Who Was the Mastermind Behind It?

Then the spiritual energy around him burst forth—he was naturally at the third level of the Qi Refining stage.

Of course, a disciple favored by Yu De would naturally have talent.

A longsword suddenly appeared in his hand, spiritual energy rippling across its blade. Young and hot-blooded as he was,

seeing his family beaten into such a state, he charged at Liu Jinhu with his sword without a care for the consequences.

"No!"

At the sight, Zhang Meng was scared out of his wits and cried out in alarm to stop him, but it was already too late. Zhang Xiao had already rushed forward with his sword.

Watching Zhang Xiao charge toward him, a flash of disdain crossed Liu Jinhu's eyes.

In an instant, a streak of black light flashed past. Zhang Xiao's body froze in midair, his gaze turning blank.

A moment later, Zhang Xiao's body was severed at the waist. Blood sprayed wildly as he fell to the ground.

At some point, a black saber had appeared in Liu Jinhu's hand, bloodlight still flickering over its blade.

"Heh, what an ignorant fool. Did you think that just because you took Yu De as your master, I wouldn't dare touch you?"

Liu Jinhu sneered at Zhang Xiao's body on the ground.

"My son!"

Zhang Meng cried out in anguish, while his wife's eyes rolled back and she fainted on the spot from fright.

Zhang Meng wept bitterly, his eyes filled with despair and regret. He regretted it more than anything now. It was all because of one moment of greed, one reckless gamble—

even Zhang Xiao, whom he had regarded as his only hope, was dead. What meaning was there in everything he had done now?

"Come, Zhang Meng. Our investigation isn't over yet."

Liu Jinhu put away his black saber and slowly walked over to Zhang Meng.

"You still haven't told me your motive. Come on, tell me everything from beginning to end. I don't like liars."

Zhang Meng gritted his teeth, then looked at his younger son in Liu Jinhu's arms. Through clenched teeth, he said,

"I've worked in this Waste Hall for twenty years and never received a promotion. I remained an obscure menial disciple, so I wanted to burn He Steward to death and take his place as the new steward."

"Just for that?"

Liu Jinhu looked at Zhang Meng with a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Yes, just for that."

Zhang Meng nodded.

"Now that I've been exposed and everything has come to light, I, Zhang Meng, admit defeat. Please spare my family."

The moment he said that, He Steward's eyes filled with shock.

"Zhang Meng, how could you do this? In all these twenty-odd years, where have I ever wronged you? You actually wanted to burn all of us to death—are you even human?"

"That's right! Zhang Meng, I even brought you gifts yesterday!"

"Pah! Zhang Meng, you're really fucking scum!"

"Zhang Meng, you're worse than pigs and dogs!"

A group of Waste Hall disciples cursed Zhang Meng viciously, but Zhang Meng closed his eyes and gave no reply, not daring to speak.

"Zhang Meng, you still aren't telling the truth."

Liu Jinhu was clearly dissatisfied with Zhang Meng's answer.

"I already had disciples investigate. Two years ago, He Steward recommended you to be the supervisor of the Waste Hall, but you refused yourself because you thought it was too troublesome. Yet now you're telling me that you wanted to kill everyone in the Waste Hall because you wanted to become its supervisor. Do you think I'd believe such a reason?"

Li Ping'an silently watched the scene, unable to keep himself from feeling deeply alarmed. Liu Jinhu truly left no drop unaccounted for in his work. A man like that was terrifying.

Zhang Meng's expression changed sharply. He had not expected Liu Jinhu's investigation to be so thorough.

"Zhang Meng, let me tell you: my patience is limited. If you still refuse to tell the truth, then when the time comes, it won't just be you and your son who die."

Liu Jinhu held Zhang Meng's younger son in his arms, a smile spread across his face.

Yet Zhang Meng could see the intense killing intent in his eyes. He knew that before this living King of Hell, he could not conceal the slightest thing. Otherwise, even the last remnant of the Zhang family line might not be preserved.

Looking into Liu Jinhu's eyes, Zhang Meng finally lost all spirit. He let out a long sigh and was about to reveal the truth.

But at that moment, a piercing shriek suddenly rang out from beyond the Waste Hall. A cold gleam tore through the air and shot straight through Zhang Meng's throat!

Liu Jinhu's expression changed drastically. He had not expected someone to dare murder a man right before his eyes.

This was simply courting death. They had far too little regard for the Law Enforcement Hall's chief enforcer.

Liu Jinhu's fearsome reputation was not built on rumors. With a furious roar, spiritual energy burst from his body, and a vast spiritual pressure swept outward from him.

He roared into the sky, "Who is it? Who dares act before me?"

Liu Jinhu rose into the air in fury, searching in every direction for suspicious traces. Before long, he locked onto a suspicious aura fleeing into the distance.

His heart jolted.

"I'd like to see who has such nerve!"

Liu Jinhu roared, "You madman, don't even think of escaping!"

Then he pursued that aura.

He was Liu Jinhu, the Law Enforcement Hall's chief enforcer. No one in the sect was unaware of his methods and reputation.

To him, this was the greatest humiliation. No matter what, he had to capture that person today.

Meanwhile, back at the Waste Hall, Zhang Meng's throat had been pierced through in an instant. His breath was faint as a gossamer, and he could not even speak.

As his eyes grew unfocused, he looked toward the horizon and vaguely uttered one final word,

"Wang... Wang... Wang..."

But he failed to finish even that word before losing all signs of life.

Li Ping'an silently watched the scene, his heart sinking to rock bottom.

There was no need to say it—it had to be Wang Steward.

Wang Steward had bought Zhang Meng off and turned him into a pawn. First, Zhang Meng poisoned the wine, then set fire to his room in the middle of the night,

trying to get rid of him by staging an accident.

Yet who could have known that the poisoned wine had no effect on him whatsoever? That was why Li Ping'an had escaped so easily.

And now, under Liu Jinhu's pressure, just as Zhang Meng was about to name the true culprit, he had been directly silenced forever.

The method was far too ruthless!

What made Li Ping'an's scalp prickle even more was the sheer narrow-mindedness of that Senior Brother Zhang. It was simply beyond belief.

He had merely said one thing about the Holy Maiden, yet that man had held a grudge against him to this day!

He had exhausted every scheme, determined to kill him no matter what!

How could a person be so sinister and vicious?

Li Ping'an sighed. The longer one lived, the more one saw.

For now, the only way he could break this deadlock was to keep striving to become stronger.

Liu Jinhu did not return, and no one dared make any rash moves.

After an unknown amount of time, a black speck finally appeared in the distance. Liu Jinhu had returned.

He looked even angrier now, his fury blazing to the heavens. Several places on his clothes were torn, and his spiritual energy was somewhat chaotic. He had clearly gone through a fierce battle.

"Damn it, that bastard actually escaped!"

Liu Jinhu cursed under his breath. Earlier, he had caught up with the man and fought him. Yet even after using all his strength, he had failed to force out the man's true power.

That could only mean one thing: the man's true strength surpassed his own. He had merely hidden it to avoid exposing himself.

But this left Liu Jinhu deeply puzzled. Someone stronger than him was at least at Foundation Establishment!

Why would a Foundation Establishment cultivator go to such painstaking lengths to incite Zhang Meng to set fire to some Waste Hall?

Wasn't that using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?

Still, whether he understood it or not, Liu Jinhu gritted his teeth and swore:

If he did not drag this person out, then his name was not Liu Jinhu.