At the entrance to the Peaceful Joy Inn, the gawkers had completely blocked the road, and more kept gathering. Everyone who arrived deliberately edged toward the corpse, wanting to see who had been killed. Clearly, none of them feared the sight of a dead body. This was plainly not their first time.
Whether anyone recognized the dead man was unclear. In any case, no one revealed his identity. Even those who knew probably would not say.
The rain had not stopped entirely. A fine drizzle lingered, and beneath the streetlamps under the eaves, bloody water on the ground still trickled into the gutters. The scent of blood remained fresh.
The innkeeper returned from wherever he had gone. When the neighboring shopkeepers questioned him, he merely said he did not know what had happened and would have to wait for the city's wardens to handle it.
Feng Chi had returned as well, together with the innkeeper, but she was not standing beside him now. She did not dare, for she had already spotted that scruffy old man in the crowd.
She too stood on a rooftop, beside the gaunt man in blue, wearing a cloak with her face covered.
There were other people on the rooftops on both sides of the street as well.
Suddenly, those on the rooftops turned to look toward one end of the street. A group clad in chestnut-brown clothing had hurried over after hearing the news. Anyone familiar with them knew that these were Mount Wukang disciples, some of those stationed in the city to maintain order.
Two carriages followed behind the group.
"Make way!"
Shouts rang out, driving people aside, and the crowd of onlookers blocking that end of the street quickly cleared a path.
A squad of Mount Wukang disciples rushed straight to the