The True Culprit

Thud! As the foreman's corpse crashed to the ground, Li Zhi, using the alias Ding Daniu, had already dashed to the constable disguised as an accountant, moving so fast he almost left a blur behind.

He made no flashy moves. His arm bulged as he raised a fist the size of a sand bowl and drove it straight forward.

Seeing the airflow torn apart, the constable had no time to dodge and could only raise his saber to block in front of him.

Clang!

The saber, sheath and all, shattered into several pieces. Li Zhi's fist slowed only slightly before striking the constable in the chest.

Amid the sounds of rib after rib breaking, the constable staggered back several steps and collapsed, barely breathing out as he breathed in.

With his hooved, transformed feet striking the ground, Li Zhi, dressed in a short brown jacket, charged toward the nearby warehouse like a galloping steed, dragging his black-scaled snake tail behind him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Three sharp arrows shot from the Watchtower east of the city. They stretched from where Li Zhi had originally been toward his destination, either piercing wooden planks or "blasting" pits into the mud, but they were ultimately a beat too slow.

After flying into the warehouse, Li Zhi kicked several times in succession, exploding the many jars of strong liquor stacked there. Liquor poured out wildly, filling the air with its fragrance.

Immediately afterward, the great bandit of New Yu dug out several jars of gunpowder he had hidden beforehand and used a fire striker to ignite the fuses.

As the fuses rapidly shortened, Li Zhi ran toward the other side of the warehouse, turned sideways, and slammed through the wooden wall with a bang, rolling out amid the swaying building.

Rumble!

The explosions rang out one after another, blasting the warehouse roof into the air and sending thick black smoke rolling upward.

Crimson flames followed, rapidly devouring the warehouse and leaping toward the sky.

The commotion immediately drew teams of patrolling constables and Xiaoming Sect disciples toward the docks. Yi Qincang, at the Watchtower east of the city, also drew four white-feathered arrows and nocked them all onto the bowstring at once.

Whoosh!

The four arrows gave off a single sound. All of them blazed with crimson light, transforming into dazzling fire serpents as they shot toward Li Zhi, covering the front, back, left, and right.

Li Zhi ignored everything and simply charged forward. Reflected in his eyes was a crimson fire arrow burning fiercely.

The arrow moved so fast it nearly detonated the air. Li Zhi had no chance to raise his fist and knock it aside; he could only tense the muscles in both legs, drive forward with his strange horse hooves, and forcibly drag out a blur.

This was the movement technique from the "Secret Script of the Celestial Being's Tenfold Strength."

Yi Qincang's arrows aimed left, right, and behind all missed. The crimson fire arrow pursuing Li Zhi struck the fading blur, yet continued forward, rushing toward the back of the enemy whose speed had begun to slow.

Li Zhi abruptly twisted his waist and turned sideways. The crimson arrow grazed past his back, leaving behind a distinct smell of scorching, a deep blackened bloody mark, and a tuft of horsehair that caught fire.

Rolling and tumbling, Li Zhi hid inside another warehouse.

Inside the Zhen Estate.

Lin Hansheng, the magistrate of Dingjiang Prefecture who had already arrived there, heard the explosions from the eastern docks and saw the firelight rising into the sky.

His face darkened, but he did not waver or go to the docks to provide support. Instead, he raised both palms covered in blue-black scales.

Deep mist immediately rolled out, as if dark clouds were hidden within it.

Wind suddenly rose, sweeping across an area ten zhang wide. The cloud and mist, as if brewing a rainstorm, were blown rapidly toward Riverwave Hall. In just a few breaths, they had already enveloped the place.

In Dai Shen's eyes, the clouds and mist before the coming storm were hazy and ethereal. Something long-shaped seemed to be rushing through their depths, appearing and disappearing, making it impossible to tell from which direction it would emerge the next moment.

Lin Hansheng came from Flame Capital's martial tradition and had climbed step by step to the Law Realm. He was currently a second-grade Subtlety Martial Grandmaster, and the martial art he cultivated was the "Jiao Transformation Scripture." This strike was the first transformation, "Cloud-Mist Transformation":

He hid within the clouds and mist, his whereabouts impossible to find; his fist was like a flood dragon, and mountain torrents poured forth.

Dai Shen could not catch where Lin Hansheng's fist would come from, how it would attack, or where it would strike. He could only make his tiger claws meet violently, as if embracing an invisible ball of water before his chest, and then gently turn it.

The Zhen Family Attendants, guards, and disciples who had been slaughtering one another inside and outside Riverwave Hall, along with Su Chongxiao's followers and Ren Youyang's guards, suddenly had nearly illusory streams of blood fly from their bodies. In the blink of an eye, they converged between Dai Shen's palms.

The vicious energy in their hearts dissipated with it. Their bodies went limp and collapsed to the ground, on the verge of unconsciousness.

A moment later, only Zhen Qianfan remained attacking Su Chongxiao, while Lin Hansheng's clouds and mist enveloped Dai Shen.

The invisible ball of water between Dai Shen's palms quickly took on streak after streak of blood-red color.

Just as Lin Hansheng's fist and arm, covered in blue-black scales, emerged from the dark clouds and mist like a flood dragon leaping into the air, striking the left-path demon lord's waist from an utterly unexpected angle, Dai Shen suddenly brought his palms together.

The blood-colored ball of water silently exploded, transforming into an illusory red tide composed of sword techniques, fist intent, saber force, staff strikes, and more. Taking Dai Shen's body as its core, it surged in all directions without missing a spot, completely covering the area and successfully catching Lin Hansheng's ethereal, traceless punch.

Only by gathering water could one overturn a boat!

It even tore through the dark clouds and mist, revealing the "flood dragon" to everyone.

Lin Hansheng's face was horse-like, dotted with several blue-black scales.

After releasing the specially made fireworks, Qi Xiaoxiang, using the alias Liu Yuzao, stopped paying attention to Qin Nuangsheng. She tapped the tips of her toes and left Lotus Pond Courtyard with a nimble figure.

She quickly turned into another building, tore down curtains and other items, then took out a fire striker. With a pull and a blow, she set everything ablaze.

Flames surged upward. Qi Xiaoxiang moved through the buildings as she went, setting fires with abandon and turning the entire Zhen Estate into a hellscape. Fires raged everywhere, and smoke rose from every direction.

Servants and maids either fled in all directions or tried to put out the fires. Chaos reigned.

Now and then, guards or household men who had not gone to Riverwave Hall encountered Qi Xiaoxiang. The woman either relied on her movement technique to bypass them directly or drew a short sword more than a foot long. First, she lightly tapped aside her enemy's weapon; then, amid their bewildered expressions, she followed through and slit their throats.

The shock and incomprehension of those guards and household men froze in their eyes. They seemed unable to believe they could die so quickly, or that the martial arts they had practiced until they knew them by heart could suddenly feel so unfamiliar, as if they did not belong to them, leaving them riddled with openings.

Atop the highest Watchtower.

Zheng Zhuxi alternated between looking toward the county office and glancing at the Zhen Estate, discovering that both sides had descended into considerable chaos:

Inside the county office, the Xiaoming Sect disciples had not suffered from the "Moth Species." Together with some constables, they were dealing with their former colleagues, now "Mothmen." Qiu Chen, using the alias Ding Shengyi, kept darting through the various rooms, preventing himself from being exposed to the Watchtower's surveillance;

Meanwhile, fires raged throughout the Zhen Estate, with maids and servants rushing everywhere. Aside from the area around Riverwave Hall, it was impossible to tell where invaders remained or how many there were.

When she saw that Prefecture Commandant Gao and the others had arrived at the county office, Zheng Zhuxi let out a sigh of relief and shifted her attention back to the Zhen Estate.

She saw that her mother, Tao Wenshu, was merely gazing at the Zhen Estate with starlight hidden in her eyes and had not even taken a stance to draw her sword. Feeling puzzled and worried, she asked:

"Mother, why haven't you acted yet?"

Tao Wenshu smiled.

"The true culprit hasn't appeared yet."

The true culprit? Zheng Zhuxi's thoughts stirred, and she immediately let her eyes take on the dim yet warm light of candle flames.

When she looked toward the Zhen Estate again, every detail became exceptionally clear, as if the distance between them had been reduced to within ten zhang.

Zheng Zhuxi rapidly swept her gaze over the various situations. Suddenly, she saw a figure flash through the corridor leading to Zhen Qianfan's residence, revealing a hint of scallion-white clothing.

Inside the Zhen Estate's secret prison.

Seeing that Yan Changqing in the Sea of Consciousness had stopped speaking and closed his eyes to rest, Ding Songyan could only suppress his anxiety, split off half his attention, and earnestly continue telling "Legend of the White Snake."

After he had spoken for a while, Yan Changqing in his Sea of Consciousness slowly opened his eyes and said with a smile:

"It is time to act."

Ding Songyan, underground and unable to hear any commotion, was startled at first, then his heart tightened.

Yan Changqing calmly told him:

"Split the strand of qi I gave you into two and move them into your palms. Attack the people on both sides at the same time.

"I will replenish it for you later, allowing you to carry me out of the Zhen Estate."

"Very well." Ding Songyan immediately made the hazy "seed" split into two, sending each half into one of his palms.

His mind instantly became one. He "rose" into the air, sensing the auras of the two Zhen Family disciples beside him, sensing the presence of the world's qi, and sensing the chaotic existence of clouds, mist, rain, water, and other changes not far away.

Ding Songyan could no longer continue telling "Legend of the White Snake" at the same time. He closed his mouth and, following the auras he sensed, suddenly thrust his palms toward the two Zhen Family disciples.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that something was wrong:

Why am I obeying Yan Changqing so readily? He tells me to act, and I act; he tells me to kill, and I kill?

Wasn't I determined to delay whenever possible, cooperate as little as possible, and wait for the authorities to arrive?

The Zhen Estate is my enemy, the "Ding Family" is my enemy, and Yan Changqing is my enemy too!

Ding Songyan had no time to stop his sideways-thrusting palms and could only forcibly withdraw part of his strength.

Bang!

Surging torrents burst from his palms and struck the two Zhen Estate disciples.

The two Zhen Estate disciples were sent flying into the wall. They gave only a single groan of pain before falling silent.

Ding Songyan hurriedly removed the black cloth covering his face and discovered that both Zhen Estate disciples had fainted.

Immediately afterward, he turned his gaze forward.

Inside the cramped room, behind the swaying oil lamp, stood a grand tutor's chair. Someone sat in it.

The man wore a Huayang Headscarf and a blue-lapelled robe. His features were lean and refined, and his temples were streaked with white. He was none other than Yan Changqing.

Almost at the same time, Ding Songyan noticed that the sleeves and lower portion of the blue-lapelled robe hung empty, without anything supporting them.

Yan Changqing had lost both arms and both legs.

"Little friend, you can take out that dagger now." Yan Changqing's voice echoed through Ding Songyan's Sea of Consciousness.

His eyes held both black and white, but the black seemed to possess some strange power that drew all attention to it:

"Zhen Qianfan gives this old man a strange medicine every day. If that thing is not removed, I fear I will be unable to truly escape him afterward. He underestimates this old man's knowledge far too much."

You want me to cut open your abdomen? Ding Songyan was astonished, but he still took the Refined Steel dagger from a hidden pocket in his clothes.

He had only taken two steps forward when a sudden bang-bang-bang sounded behind him as someone knocked on the door.

Before he could react, the heavy iron door was slowly pushed open.

Who? Ding Songyan hurriedly turned sideways and saw a figure both familiar and strange.

The woman wore a scallion-white, straight-collared, double-breasted short jacket embroidered with silver edging on top, and a light goose-yellow gauze skirt below. Her hair was simply tied up with a white silk handkerchief, while most of it hung loose, black and lustrous.

Her beauty was peerless, her brows and eyes like a poem or painting. Merely appearing there seemed to cleanse the cramped room, whose airflow had been murky, making it suddenly fresh and pure.

"Qingyan..." Ding Songyan called her name.

The woman was clearly Ding Qingyan, yet she seemed to have aged several years overnight. Her features had fully matured, and her figure had grown graceful. She retained the freshness of a young girl while possessing a captivating charm. She was breathtakingly beautiful, making it impossible to look away.

In that instant, Ding Songyan caught a change in Yan Changqing's expression from the corner of his eye.

In his impression, the old man was either smiling calmly or remaining unmoved, rarely displaying any other emotion. Yet at that moment, he revealed several traces of fear he could not conceal.

"You..." Yan Changqing's aged, hoarse voice rang out.

The woman's beautiful eyes turned, and she said with a charming smile:

"Master, your disciple has come to rescue you."

At the top of the highest Watchtower.

Zheng Zhuxi asked her mother in confusion:

"Mother, who will the true culprit be?

"And earlier, when I asked you what other methods besides the Moth Species and witchcraft could make someone do something they did not want to do and prevent them from saying what they wanted to say, you never told me the answer."

Tao Wenshu's expression turned somewhat solemn.

"I thought about it for a long time. Considering that the strange appearances of Qiu Chen, Li Zhi, and Qi Xiaoxiang had been concealed, I think the most likely possibility is:

"'Heavenly Heart Wisdom Scripture.'"