Lu Jing'an and Chen Xuan rode back to the Lin Family's home.
Before they even got out of the car, they could already see the desolate scene.
The vermilion gates had long since vanished.
Several sections of the courtyard wall had collapsed.
Broken bricks, shattered tiles, and dried-up mud lay everywhere.
Only the scarlet decorations hung for the wedding
still clung miserably between the broken beams and rafters,
shivering in the wind.
The red cloth looked even eerier than it had when Lu Jing'an left.
It was so dark it bordered on black, and beads of blood slowly gathered along its edges.
One drop, then another, seeped into the earth below.
There, they bloomed into dark flowers.
When they saw Lu Jing'an's car arrive,
several men in black hurried forward.
With swift, practiced movements, they used clean planks and stones they had found somewhere
to lay out a narrow but tidy path
through the filthy, chaotic courtyard.
They stood solemnly on either side,
afraid that even a speck of dust or blood might touch Young Master Lu's gleaming, finely crafted custom leather shoes.
Lu Jing'an remained calm.
Following the makeshift clean path,
he walked slowly into the center of the courtyard.
By now, the vast courtyard was almost filled with corpses.
Those of the Lin Family and the Li Family.
They lay scattered in every direction, frozen in their final poses.
Lin Shouxin lay on his back.
Aside from a few wrinkles, his clothes were still fairly neat.
A conspicuous bullet hole between his brows had given him a dignified end.
Lin Qingyi, lying nearby, had fared quite differently.
Her bridal gown was riddled with bullet holes like a honeycomb and soaked in dark red.
Lu Jing'an swept his gaze over her and understood.
Most likely, his men
had decided that his former fiancée had humiliated him
and taken the chance to vent their anger.
He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
He wasn't a petty man.
Or rather,
he had never truly paid any attention to this short-sighted Lin Family heiress,
much less held a grudge against her.
It was just that the people beneath him always loved to show their loyalty this way.
He did not stop, passing the Lin Family's dead and heading straight for the Li Family's side.
At their head lay Li Jinglin.
The Li Family strategist, who had prided himself on leaving nothing to chance,
hadn't escaped either.
His body was riddled with bullet holes.
He must have thought himself in complete control at the time,
and positioned himself near the front. When the shots rang out, he had become the most conspicuous target.
Lu Jing'an paused briefly before him.
His gaze remained unruffled.
Then he turned to his true targets:
the corpses of the four cultivators.
The three Martial Cultivators and one Smoke Cultivator had been placed apart in a corner, setting them distinctly apart from the others.
The old Smoke Cultivator lay slumped on the ground,
eyes wide open,
as if unwilling to accept his fate.
His mouth still clamped tight around the brass mouthpiece
of a long-stemmed pipe with an ebony stem.
As soon as Lu Jing'an focused on the pipe,
a faint glimmer imperceptible to ordinary people rose in his eyes, and a prompt quietly appeared:
[Detecting an object available for Refining/repair. Select?]
"Put that pipe away."
Lu Jing'an turned his head and quietly instructed a trusted subordinate beside him.
"Yes, Young Master."
The man answered promptly, then carefully pried open the Smoke Cultivator's clenched jaw.
He removed the pipe, still warm from the man's body,
and carefully wiped it with the pristine white handkerchief he carried.
Then he wrapped it securely and put it in an inner pocket.
It was spoils of war, so there was naturally no reason to return it to the Li Family.
If the Li Family asked about it later, "destroyed by Nine-Fingered Yama" would be the perfect explanation.
Once the pipe had been removed, a new prompt appeared above the Smoke Cultivator's corpse:
[Detecting a soul available for Refining/repair. Collect?]
"[Collect]."
Lu Jing'an made the choice with a thought.
Next, he walked over to the other two Martial Cultivators.
The same prompts appeared, and he chose to collect their souls as well.
Finally, he stopped before the corpse of the powerful Martial Cultivator who had broken through the Blood Barrier.
This man's body had the fewest injuries.
Aside from a few shallow bruises and torn clothes,
there was only a clear, indented fist mark over his heart.
Clearly, a single fatal blow had shattered it.
Lu Jing'an mused,
It seems that when he fought my master, Chen Xuan,
the battle only looked fierce.
In truth, he had been suppressed from beginning to end,
which was why he had died so cleanly and swiftly.
[Detecting a soul available for Refining/repair. Collect?]
"[Collect]."
Lu Jing'an confirmed.
He couldn't help feeling a little anticipation about what kind of Affix this powerful Martial Cultivator's soul might yield.
After examining all four cultivators' corpses,
Lu Jing'an surveyed the blood-soaked courtyard, with barely anywhere to set foot, and frowned slightly.
"Master, the courtyard is filthy. Let's wait in the car."
Lu Jing'an spoke to Chen Xuan, who had been silently standing guard beside him.
"All right." Chen Xuan nodded, making no objection.
The two had barely settled back into the car
when Section Chief Liu from the Security Station came hurrying over.
Through the car window, he lowered his voice and said,
"Young Master Lu, the Bureau Chief asked me to pass along a message.
The Qian Family has been dealt with. Cleanly and efficiently."
Lu Jing'an showed no surprise. He merely nodded.
Then he turned to another attendant beside him and said,
"Take Section Chief Liu to the back of the car,
bring out the 'tea money' we've prepared,
and distribute it among the men who helped today.
They've all worked hard."
"Yes, Young Master."
The attendant answered and led Section Chief Liu to the car's trunk.
The lid lifted, and Section Chief Liu's breath caught.
Silver gleamed everywhere, with heaps of bright, shining silver dollars piled to the brim.
The glare was almost blinding.
A quick estimate put the total at no less than forty thousand dollars!
He had guessed the Lu Family would offer a generous reward, but not one this lavish.
The entire Yinshan Public Security Bureau had turned out, and there were barely two hundred men.
That meant each man would receive more than two hundred silver dollars on average!
For these Security Officers, ten dollars a month was already top pay in Yinshan County.
Two hundred dollars was almost two years' salary!
Section Chief Liu rubbed his hands and hurried back to Lu Jing'an's car window,
his voice filled with excitement and just the right degree of apprehension:
"Young Master Lu, th-this reward is too generous. The men don't deserve it!"
Lu Jing'an waved a hand, his tone calm but leaving no room for argument.
"Our men risked their lives and took up arms for the Lu Family. This is what they deserve.
Just distribute it as I said."
"Yes! On behalf of all the men, I thank Young Master Lu for this generous reward!"
Section Chief Liu bowed deeply, then asked,
"May I ask how you would like us to divide up the money?"
Lu Jing'an had already worked out the arrangement. He replied unhurriedly:
"Every man who took part in the operation, regardless of rank, gets two years' salary.
Those who suffered minor injuries during the operation get an additional six months' salary.
Those seriously wounded get an extra year.
And if any of our men fell in the line of duty,
their families will receive a lump sum equal to five years' salary.
If the family has a boy of eligible age, the Security Station will give him priority for recruitment."
Section Chief Liu listened, nodding again and again, his heart warming.
The arrangement was not only generous but thoughtful and humane.
The uninjured men would probably hear about it and bitterly regret not getting themselves slightly wounded,
so they could claim six months' extra pay.
"If this isn't enough, there's more set aside in the car behind us."
Lu Jing'an pointed to the other car following behind.
"You two, help Section Chief Liu carry it over." Lu Jing'an instructed two of his men beside the car.
"Oh, please, there's no need to trouble your men, Young Master Lu!"
Section Chief Liu hurriedly stopped them, then turned and called to the men nearby.
"You two, come give us a hand!"
The two Security Officers he had called over jogged up.
The moment they saw the trunk full of silver dollars, their eyes went wide.
Section Chief Liu straightened his back and spoke loudly, making sure plenty of people nearby could hear:
"Take a good look, everyone!
Young Master Lu is generous and understands how hard the men have worked. This is his reward for our efforts!
You two, carry it carefully over to that open space.
Tell the brothers to come over in shifts and claim their rewards according to the rules!
"Don't forget whose generosity this is!"
"Yes! Thank you, Young Master Lu! Thank you, Chief!"
The two Security Officers came to their senses and bowed and scraped toward Lu Jing'an.
After thanking him profusely, they carefully lifted the box.
The place where the rewards were being handed out was not far from Lu Jing'an's car.
Section Chief Liu personally oversaw the distribution.
With each person he paid,
he loudly announced the recipient's name and the amount due.
Everyone who received money beamed with delight.
After taking the heavy silver dollars, they all turned around of their own accord,
and respectfully bowed or clasped their fists toward Lu Jing'an's car in thanks.
For a time, cries of "Thank you for the reward, Young Master Lu!" rang out one after another.
Lu Jing'an sat calmly in the car and gave a slight nod through the glass.
He thought, It really is different when you're a section chief.
Just as the rewards had nearly all been handed out,
a Security Officer came running over.
He whispered a few words in Section Chief Liu's ear.
Section Chief Liu's expression turned solemn, and he waved the man away.
After straightening his clothes and hat, he hurried to Lu Jing'an's car.
He bowed and spoke in a low voice, barely above a whisper:
"Young Master Lu, the Li Family's people have arrived. Their motorcade is at the end of the street."
The faintest curve touched Lu Jing'an's lips.
After spending all this time rushing about and shedding so much blood,
wasn't this the very moment he had been waiting for?
He recalled Li Jinglin's taunt to Lin Shouxin earlier:
"Does the Lu Family really dare return only one corpse to me?"
He sneered inwardly.
Today, the Lu Family certainly wouldn't return only one corpse.
With so many bodies, if they returned only one,
would the Lu Family really have an easy time storing the rest?
"Understood."
Lu Jing'an's tone was even.
"You can handle the negotiations later.
I'm just a common citizen; it wouldn't be appropriate for me to get involved in official business."
Section Chief Liu understood at once and immediately straightened his back. "Your subordinate understands. I'll make sure this is handled properly."
Almost as soon as Section Chief Liu finished speaking,
the hurried, chaotic roar of car engines and screech of brakes drew nearer.
Several cars came to an abrupt stop outside the Lin Family's ruined courtyard gate, bristling with killing intent.
The Li Family's eldest young master, dressed as a groom,
had a face so livid it was frightening.
Flanked on either side by two burly, plainly dressed old men whose temples bulged high and whose eyes flashed like lightning,
he shoved open the car door and strode out.
His steps were unsteady, and the skin around his eyes was bruised from excessive indulgence.
He looked completely out of place amid the killing atmosphere in the courtyard.
But the malice and gloom on his face were so thick they could not be dispelled.
Chen Xuan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, sat up a little straighter and said to Lu Jing'an:
"Young Master, there are two tough opponents here. They're skilled.
I'll get out and keep an eye on things, just in case."
Lu Jing'an nodded. "Thank you, Master. Be careful."
Chen Xuan silently got out of the car and stood beside it, as imposing as a deep pool and a lofty mountain.
He did not approach, but the aura that faintly enveloped the entire scene
made the two old men beside the Li Family's eldest young master narrow their eyes.
Their steps faltered involuntarily, and their muscles tensed without a sound.
The Li Family's eldest young master, however, seemed not to notice—or perhaps anger had clouded his mind.
After getting out, he didn't even look at the Security Officers blocking his way and lifted a foot to barge into the courtyard.
"Stop!"
Section Chief Liu darted forward and thrust out an arm,
blocking the Li Family's eldest young master. His expression was stern, and his voice rang out with the hard-edged authority of someone doing his duty:
"This is a major crime scene, and it's currently under investigation!
Unauthorized persons are not permitted to enter!"
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