175: Yunzhong Lin Family

The moment his words fell, Jin, who was by Su Jin's side, had already moved.

With a flicker, she vanished from her original spot.

The next moment, the three dense black fogs, which were unleashing their power, suddenly paused.

Then, three slender, light purple sword lights flashed and disappeared in the alley.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Three crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out almost simultaneously.

The three Withering Shadows stumbled out of the black fog, their dark short blades all broken, and a line of blood appeared on each of their wrists.

They clutched their wrists and fell to the ground.

They stared at Jin, who had returned to Su Jin's side, with eyes full of horror, as if looking at a monster.

From the moment she made her move to the end, it was only a breath's time.

The alley fell into a dead silence.

The Crimson Scale Guard commander and his soldiers were all dumbfounded; they had just been fighting desperately.

In the blink of an eye, these three formidable enemies, who had left them helpless, were easily dealt with by this seemingly cold and quiet woman?

That Crimson Scale Guard commander was named General Yan Lie.

He swallowed, put away his battle saber, walked up to Su Jin, and respectfully cupped his fists in a salute.

"Thank you for your assistance! I am General Yan Lie, Commander of the Crimson Scale Guard, may I ask who you are?"

His attitude was respectful; these few individuals before him possessed unfathomable strength and were definitely not ordinary people.

"Su Jin."

Su Jin replied, shaking the half-eaten mushroom candied hawthorn in his hand.

The Crimson Scale Guard leader was first stunned when he heard the name, then his expression changed dramatically, and his voice trembled slightly.

"You are... City Lord Su Jin of Infinite City?"

He asked tentatively.

The legendary... three-headed and six-armed... ah, no... the Su Jin who killed a legend with a single finger?

"Just passing by."

Su Jin smiled, pointing at the few people on the ground.

"What's the background of these guys?"

General Yan Lie suppressed the shock in his heart and reported.

"They are assassins from the Dark Star Empire, code-named Withering Shadows."

"Recently, a supply route of our Crimson Flame Dynasty leading to the Youfeng Valley front line has been frequently encountering incidents."

"Our Crimson Scale Guard was ordered to investigate and had been following them for a long time. We only found an opportunity to act today, but we didn't expect their strength to be so formidable."

"Oh? A supply route?" Su Jin became a little interested.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the alley entrance.

A group of people dressed in luxurious silk robes and carrying an imposing aura burst in, led by an arrogant-faced young man.

"Stop!"

The young man scanned the scene, his eyes flickering when he saw the three cloaked figures who had been subdued.

He then regained his arrogant demeanor and shouted at General Yan Lie.

"Commander Yan, how dare you! How dare you apprehend people at will within Cloud City?"

General Yan Lie frowned.

"Young Master Lin, we are acting on a secret order from the City Lord's Mansion to apprehend enemy spies. Please do not obstruct official duties."

"Spies?"

The young man, referred to as Young Master Lin, sneered.

"Why do they look more like foreign merchants visiting Cloud City?"

"Commander Yan, you mustn't apprehend the wrong people and needlessly harm the relationship between our Cloud City and friendly nations."

As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently fell upon Jin, and his eyes immediately lit up.

Jin stood tall and elegant, with a cool and aloof temperament, and her simple samurai uniform accentuated her graceful figure.

In this chaotic alley, she was like a serene snow lotus.

Young Master Lin's eyes darted, he glanced at the cloaked figures lying on the ground, and took two steps closer to Jin.

"These people, they weren't injured by you, were they, young lady? These people are esteemed guests of my residence."

"You've injured them like this; you'll have to give an explanation."

His words were frivolous, and his eyes held undisguised possessiveness.

Su Jin watched this scene with interest, taking another bite of his candied hawthorn.

Jin's brows furrowed slightly, and her clear, cold eyes gave him a faint glance.

It was just that one glance, and the smile on Young Master Lin's face instantly froze.

He felt as if he hadn't been looked at by a person, but rather had a drawn divine weapon pressed against his glabella.

That icy, sharp killing intent instantly froze all the blood in his body.

He stumbled, his face turning pale, and he retreated two steps, no longer daring to look at Jin again.

"Young Master Lin, these three individuals are of great importance; I must take them back to the City Lord's Mansion for interrogation."

General Yan Lie said in a deep voice, breaking the awkward situation.

Lin Feng was badly frightened, and now being contradicted by General Yan Lie, he immediately became enraged out of humiliation.

"Presumptuous! I said, release them! General Yan Lie, think carefully about the consequences of offending our Lin family!"

General Yan Lie gripped the hilt of his saber, not giving an inch.

"My duty demands it, I cannot obey!"

The atmosphere instantly became tense.

At this moment, a guard from the Lin family's entourage.

Exchanged a glance with one of the Withering Shadows kneeling on the ground.

A black metal ball abruptly appeared in the center of the area.

"Bang!"

The metal ball exploded, and a dense, grayish-white smoke instantly spread, engulfing the entire platform.

The smoke not only obscured vision but also had a peculiar effect of interfering with perception.

"Watch out!"

General Yan Lie roared, immediately on alert.

In the smoke, only a few short sounds of weapons clashing and muffled grunts could be heard, then silence returned.

Su Jin stood still, unmoving, the dense fog parting three feet in front of him as if encountering a wall.

He continued to leisurely eat his candied hawthorn, watching the situation within the smoke.

"Finally couldn't hold back, huh? But, that Young Master Lin, why does he seem like he came specifically to die?"

A moment later, the smoke slowly dissipated.

The sight before them made all the Crimson Scale Guards gasp.

Several bodies lay scattered on the ground; they were none other than Lin Feng and the guards he had brought, who had just burst in.

Each of them had a faint bloodline on their throat, killed with a single strike.

And the three subdued Withering Shadows had vanished without a trace.

"This..."

General Yan Lie was completely dumbfounded.

He looked at the bodies on the ground, then at the empty edge of the platform, at a loss as to what to do.

The culprits had escaped, and the noble young master who came to "demand" their release had died before his eyes.

This was big trouble now.

He subconsciously looked at Su Jin.

Su Jin finally finished the last mushroom, casually tossed the bamboo skewer aside, and clapped his hands.

"Is this Lin family very influential in Cloud City?"

General Yan Lie regained his composure and nodded bitterly.

"The Lin family is the largest family in Cloud City, deeply rooted, even the City Lord has to give them some face. Now that Lin Feng died here..."

He stopped mid-sentence, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.

"That's not right..."

He muttered to himself.

"When we investigated the hijacked trade route before, the case files clearly stated."

"Recently, the Lin family's caravans suffered the most severe losses."

"Several times, even their guards were completely wiped out, and they were even punished by the City Lord's Mansion for losing a batch of special supplies."

"If that's the case, why would Lin Feng come to rescue these perpetrators who plundered their caravans?"

A victim, desperately trying to rescue the perpetrators?

That doesn't make sense.

The more General Yan Lie thought about it, the more he felt something was off. His gaze swept back and forth between Lin Feng's body and the direction where the Withering Shadows had disappeared.

Su Jin looked at his deep in thought expression, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Perhaps, you should change your line of thinking. Who told you that their losses... were real?"

A word to awaken the dreamer.

General Yan Lie's body trembled, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Countless fragmented clues instantly connected in his mind.

The seemingly heavy losses of the Lin family, Lin Feng's abnormal actions, and that batch of lost special supplies...

A terrifying conjecture emerged in his mind.

Embezzlement by an insider!

Collusion from within!

General Yan Lie's face instantly turned pale.

"No!" He exclaimed in shock.

"How dare they."