Who Will Be Buried With Them

"So, the Senior Brother has already left North Prefecture."

Sheng Qingzhi sat upright in a grand armchair, his hands resting on the armrests, his posture naturally exuding a solemnity as heavy as a mountain.

"Yes."

Kneeling on one knee before the armchair was a man clad in full armor—the Purple-Complexioned Face.

"The Master has traveled to the outside world for an urgent matter; he received a report this morning and departed immediately."

"Understood."

Sheng Qingzhi toyed with a copper-skinned gourd in his right hand. The gourd was exquisitely crafted from wind-polished copper, adorned with southern red agate and turquoise, and engraved with the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams.

"By the way, what is that boy from the Ren Family doing?"

He casually placed the gourd on the wood-grained table. It was unclear what was hidden inside, but a faint "buzzing" vibration could be heard, as if a vortex of wind and thunder were trapped within.

"According to the intelligence gathered by our men," the Purple-Complexioned Face said, his head bowed, his voice low and gravelly, "that boy from the Ren Family has sent his retainers to deliver calling cards to the Flying Fish Sect, the Long Wind Society, the Iron Heart Martial Hall, the Dongchang Escort Agency, Old Master Wei Single-Whip... and various factions, both righteous and underworld, around Suian City, announcing an early 'mountain sweep to eliminate the demon.' However, things are not going smoothly."

"That is to be expected." Prefect Sheng stroked his beard and sighed, "These martial arts drifters and heroes are, to put it bluntly, nothing more than a bunch of thugs and a motley crew. They have always been opportunists who trim their sails to the wind, seeking advantages and avoiding risks. Having heard the rumors in the city, they all assume the young master of the Ren Family is about to fall; why would they voluntarily join in the chaos?"

"Then, if the boy cannot gather enough men to search the mountain, why should we waste our time on him?" The Purple-Complexioned Face was clearly puzzled. "My Lord, searching the mountain requires vast manpower and resources. Furthermore, that One-Horned Mountain Demon has already gained significant power. Two of my brothers among the Thirteen Flying Cloud Riders encountered the creature upon entering the mountain and nearly suffered a great loss; many of the government runners who went in also suffered casualties."

It must be known that the slave soldiers selected by Chongyang Palace were the result of rigorous screening. The Thirteen Flying Cloud Riders under Daoist Zhen were all valiant warriors, naturally fierce and unafraid of death—yet, not fearing death did not mean they were willing to seek it out.

A monster like the mountain demon, having lived for a century, possessed growing intelligence that ordinary mortals could not contend with. Only if a sect dispatched a cultivator proficient in sorcery could they suppress it with dharma power.

The Purple-Complexioned Face knew well that in the current situation, without sufficient manpower and resources, searching Four Peaks Mountain to find the whereabouts of Cheng Zhi was undoubtedly as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"There is always a brave man under a heavy reward. The Ren Family can afford the price, and those in the martial arts world are greedy for fame and profit. As long as the money is enough... it is just that this time, the boy from the Ren Family will not have it as smooth as he has in the past." A cold sneer hung on Prefect Sheng's lips. "Admittedly, the boy is quite cunning, and the Ren Family has been managed well under his hand, showing he indeed has some skill. However, for a mere merchant to be so fond of keeping retainers and befriending martial artists is truly unwise..."

The Purple-Complexioned Face frowned slightly at these words; he could see that this Prefect Sheng truly disliked the young master of the Ren Family.

This mentality was not hard to guess. He Ping was merely a merchant; instead of obediently keeping maids and concubines, spending vast sums on gardens and mansions, or throwing gold at antiques and calligraphy, he insisted on using the wealth of a tycoon to support so many retainers. In the eyes of the government, this was a very bad omen.

Who does this He Ping think he is? Gathering so many people under his command—is he planning to act with arrogance and rely on his influence to bully others? Or is he planning to gather a mob to stir up trouble and hold officials hostage?

From the very beginning, Prefect Sheng had looked down upon the actions of the Ren Family boy, though he had been too lazy to pay him any mind.

"As the head of the merchants in Suian City, the Ren Family cannot be left to its own devices. Since the boy is not fit to be the head of the house, let us choose someone else... That He Jin is a clever man; it would not be a bad thing for him to become the head of the family."

Sheng Qingzhi's tone was indifferent, yet his words were surprisingly grand, as if he were not the Prefect of Suian City, but the Supreme Emperor. Everything in the city was subject to his control, even the succession of a family head, which was a private matter within a clan.

"By the way," Sheng Qingzhi changed the subject, "has the mastermind behind the murder of my son been identified?"

"Regarding this matter," the Purple-Complexioned Face spoke without hesitation, "first, we investigated the 'Linjiang Immortal.' We discovered that Cheng Zhi used a human-skin mask to replace a waiter named 'Wang Liu' and snuck in. Furthermore, the body was discovered at that waiter's home."

"Replaced? How could a waiter at the Linjiang Immortal be easily replaced by an outsider? Even if someone used a human-skin mask to disguise themselves as another, their words and actions would be noticed by those who knew them well." Sheng Qingzhi countered, "It is impossible that no one knew this Wang Liu had been replaced, right?"

"Cheng Zhi's disguise was excellent; he must have been very familiar with the waiter's identity. Wang Liu was a man of few words; as long as he didn't speak much, it was difficult for outsiders to notice." The Purple-Complexioned Face continued his analysis, "We speculate that there must have been an inside accomplice at the Linjiang Immortal. After checking, we found that three months ago, a waiter who was close to the deceased Wang Liu claimed his mother was ill and needed to be cared for, so he resigned from his job."

"This person must be the lead."

"But he is dead, along with his mother. Half a month after he returned home, he happened to encounter a great fire that burned the entire house to ash. The bodies were burned beyond recognition; even if we dug them up, it would be difficult to verify their true identities."

This person was very likely the accomplice, and the fire might not have killed him and his mother, but rather used "substitute corpses" found elsewhere.

The Purple-Complexioned Face sighed. "That lead is effectively broken."

Sheng Qingzhi's face darkened. He pondered for a moment and asked, "Cheng Zhi first assassinated Xie San, then killed my son at the Linjiang Immortal, and finally escaped by water. There must have been someone helping him from the inside. You can investigate along this line..."

"In fact, we have already checked, but unfortunately, not much can be found in this direction. The other party covered their tracks extremely well and left no traces behind." The Purple-Complexioned Face glanced at the increasingly gloomy Sheng Qingzhi and continued, "However, according to our analysis, the only ones in Suian City capable of such a feat are likely the Long Wind Society, the Ren Family, and the He Family, or perhaps factions like the Iron Heart Martial Hall and the Flying Fish Sect."

"The Long Wind Society is my own, and the Ren Family are local gentry; there is no reason for them to be involved in this... The Iron Heart Martial Hall and the Flying Fish Sect lack the courage. It seems that the only ones capable of assisting Cheng Zhi in murdering my son are the He Family."

"But this is only our speculation, it is not enough to..."

"My son is dead. Whoever killed him must provide an account for his death." Sheng Qingzhi extended his right hand, his long, deliberately grown fingernails tapping gently against the tabletop. "...In order to provide an account for my son, I would not hesitate to have the entire He Family buried with him."

Hearing these words from the Prefect, the Purple-Complexioned Face simply kept his head bowed and remained silent.