An answer without answers

The Refugee District, at the Black Snake Gang's base.

Seven or eight corpses had been laid out in the Gathering Hall.

Tian Feiguang, who had hurried over from the inner city, crouched down and carefully examined how they had died, hoping to find some clues.

Several minor leaders of the Black Snake Gang stood respectfully to one side, their bodies stiff with tension.

With their status, they would never normally have had a chance to meet the Tian Family's eldest young master.

He was someone they had only heard of in legends, so naturally, they were extremely nervous.

Tian Feiguang paid no attention to these minor leaders. He passed over the bodies of Zeng Gang, Pang Dongming, and the others.

Their throats had all been slit, leaving nothing useful to examine.

Only Wang Qiao's corpse stood out. His head had been hacked to a pulp.

Either the killer had held a deep grudge against Wang Qiao, or Wang Qiao's body had contained some clue that forced the killer to do this.

But Lu Mian had anticipated this, and he had been utterly ruthless, leaving Tian Feiguang no clues whatsoever.

After examining the bodies for a while, Tian Feiguang rose helplessly.

"The killer was extremely cautious and cunning..."

"We still haven't found any trace of Yin Qianlang. He's almost certainly dead too."

Tian Feiguang's expression darkened.

Judging by the current situation, finding the killer anytime soon would be difficult.

But Tian Yuan had said that even if there was no answer, they had to come up with one.

Only then could they steady the Black Snake Gang's morale.

The Black Snake Gang was still quite important to the Tian Family. Besides raking in money without restraint, it also served as their eyes and ears, supplying plenty of information.

If the Black Snake Gang was destroyed, establishing another gang to replace it would not be so easy.

"Wang Qiao's head appears to have been crushed by a powerful palm strike."

"The killer deliberately chopped his head apart to conceal that."

Tian Feiguang spoke mildly.

Hearing this, one of the Black Snake Gang's minor leaders exclaimed, "Then it must have been the Iron Jade Gang!"

"Their Iron Jade Palm is exactly that overbearing!"

The other minor leaders nodded in agreement.

Recently, the Black Snake Gang and the Iron Jade Gang had indeed been clashing constantly.

And the Iron Jade Gang also had the backing of the Xu Family, one of the Four Great Families.

"Rest assured. I won't let their deaths go unanswered."

"Experts from the Tian Family will be dispatched here to help you secure your territory."

"We'll begin retaliating against the Iron Jade Gang soon as well."

Tian Feiguang spoke gravely.

"Thank you for securing justice for us, eldest young master!"

"Your benevolence and righteousness are unmatched!"

The minor leaders hurried to flatter him.

"Go... spread the news first."

"Tell them Gang Leader Yin has been murdered, and we'll avenge him soon."

Tian Feiguang spoke mildly.

The minor leaders hurriedly nodded and left the Gathering Hall.

Over the next few days, the Refugee District descended into chaos and strife.

Under the banner of avenging Yin Qianlang, the Black Snake Gang constantly fought members of the Iron Jade Gang in the streets.

As casualties mounted, both sides began disregarding the rules and using blades, injuring even innocent residents of the Refugee District.

Eventually, the fighting drew the Guard Hall's attention. Only after it summoned representatives of the Tian Family and the Xu Family for talks was the matter brought under control.

As for Lu Mian, the one who had started it all, he continued to stay home and practice every day.

He alternated between the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade and Iron Shirt, never slacking for a moment.

Swish, swish!

Lu Mian swung the Great Cleaver in his courtyard.

After these days of practice, his transitions between the moves of the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade had grown increasingly fluid.

As he practiced, a strange sensation suddenly came over him. His awareness grew hazy, and he forgot the moves of the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade.

Yet his movements did not stop. Instead, they became even fiercer and more powerful.

Whoosh!

Lu Mian brought his blade down, unleashing a fierce gust that carved a groove into the wall.

I didn't expect the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade to reach minor mastery first.

But it makes sense... Iron Shirt is purely a form of self-torture, while the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade relies more on technique and demands considerable comprehension.

With Bookworm Heart, I ate the entire blade manual. Improving is easy.

Lu Mian felt a faint tingling in his arms, especially in his palms. His joints felt as though they were lengthening, growing stronger and more powerful.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Brother Lu, are you home?"

A woman's voice came from outside.

Lu Mian paused in surprise.

He opened the courtyard gate and found Sun Feifei standing outside.

"Miss Sun, what brings you here?"

Lu Mian asked curiously.

"Commander Shen sent me."

"There should be an answer about that matter now."

Sun Feifei explained.

The Guard Hall kept everyone's address on record, which was how she had found him.

"All right. Let's head over together."

Lu Mian nodded.

He was also curious about how the higher-ups would handle the matter.

The two walked briskly together and soon reached the Falcon Guard's hall at the Guard Hall.

Shen Ruiwen was already seated in the place of honor.

"Greetings, Commander Shen!"

Lu Mian and Sun Feifei saluted together.

"Mm."

"That matter you were involved in isn't over yet..."

"But whatever happens next has nothing to do with you. Remember, you must not tell anyone about it."

"As for Han Can's death, if anyone outside asks, say you encountered Evil Spirits and Weird Beings of the entry realm during your mission, and you were the squad's only survivors."

Shen Ruiwen wasted no words.

Of course, he revealed no information either.

Lu Mian and Sun Feifei could hear the warning in Shen Ruiwen's tone.

Neither was foolish, and they nodded to show that they understood.

To Lu Mian, being able to extricate himself from this affair was already the best possible outcome.

"You two are all that remains of the Sixteenth Squad."

"The Falcon Guard has always been short-handed. We can't assign anyone to your squad for now, so we'll have to transfer you to other squads first."

Shen Ruiwen then moved on to their future assignments.

Hearing this, Sun Feifei spoke up. "Commander Shen, could you transfer me to the Ninth Squad?"

Clearly, she had someone she knew in the Ninth Squad.

Shen Ruiwen did not ask why. "The Ninth Squad currently has seven members and needs three more. That's fine."

Then he looked at Lu Mian. "Which squad would you like to join?"

Unexpectedly, Lu Mian shook his head. "Commander Shen, I prefer keeping to myself. Why not let me stay in the Sixteenth Squad?"

Thinking of Lu Mian's background, Shen Ruiwen could understand his decision.

"Very well... but you'll still need to leave the city to eliminate Weird Beings and Evil Spirits."

"At least ten a month."

"Can you do that?"

Shen Ruiwen set this target to put some pressure on him.

He still held some hopes for Lu Mian.

Although he had no special talent, he had managed to go from a Corpse Collector to a member of the Falcon Guard, and had even turned the tables and killed Han Can.

Even if this young man could not become a cultivator, he could at least become a squad leader in the future.

"Rest assured, Commander Shen."

"I'm confident I can do it."

Lu Mian agreed without hesitation.

If he only roamed near Thousand Chimes City and specifically hunted lone Evil Spirits and Weird Beings, the risk would not be too great.