247: Chapter 247 The Black Hand

Huai Tree Alley, the night was as dark as ink.

Old Knife Liu was directing his dozen or so Constables, preparing to collect the two mutilated corpses on the ground.

"Be quick about it, wrap them tightly in the white cloth, and don't disturb the neighbors." Old Knife Liu ordered in a low voice, his brows still tightly furrowed.

Just then, the night wind at the end of the long street suddenly stopped.

The early autumn night wind, which had carried a biting chill, seemed to be severed by some invisible force at that moment.

The air suddenly became viscous and heavy, like solidified mire, making even breathing difficult.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

A series of footsteps came from the shadows of the long street.

The sound was unhurried, yet carried a strange rhythm.

Old Knife Liu's expression changed drastically. He whipped his head around to look, and cold sweat instantly seeped from the palm gripping his sword hilt.

A tall, slender figure was slowly walking over from the end of the long street.

The person was wearing a red python robe, their face hidden in the shadows, but their Aura was like an invisible mountain, crashing down upon everyone's shoulders.

Although they didn't know the specific identity of this person, the red python robe could only be worn by eunuchs of the Upper Three Grades in the imperial court; the newcomer's status must be extremely noble.

No one dared to step forward to block them; the crowd retreated like a tide to both sides, leaving a wide passage.

The person walked to the gate of the abandoned house and stopped.

The halo of the lantern finally illuminated their face.

The face was thin, eyes like cold stars, and between the brows lay a cold sharpness and majesty of one who had long held a high position.

Yet at this moment, that face, which was usually impassive, was filled with gloom.

Cao Yong's gaze passed over the crowd and landed on the two miserable corpses in the courtyard.

One had their chest slashed open, the wound as smooth as a mirror; the other was decapitated, the head rolling several feet away, eyes wide open in death.

His complexion darkened to the extreme in an instant.

Just half an hour ago, two of the life tablets he kept in his mansion had shattered.

Blood Eagle and Hyena were dead.

And Yan Feng was still missing, the Aura of his life tablet completely gone, as if he had evaporated from the world.

These three were his capable hounds, secretly raised by him, who had handled countless dirty jobs for him that could not see the light of day.

Not only was their cultivation profound, but they were also ruthless and secretive in their actions, having never failed a task.

Cao Yong's ability to wield power in the imperial court was largely due to these three hidden blades.

Yet now, in just these few days, they had all been lost.

"Who exactly is it..."

Cao Yong's hands, clasped behind his back, clenched tightly, his knuckles emitting a faint cracking sound.

Thinking back to the recent repeated setbacks in the Family tax collection, the chess pieces he had secretly placed being removed one after another, and the frequent accidents in official circles...

Clearly, an invisible black hand was targeting him in the dark.

"Good, very good."

Cao Yong laughed out of extreme anger, his voice low and hoarse, permeated with a bone-chilling killing intent.

With his cold laugh, a terrifying Aura erupted from his body.

This Aura was as deep as the abyss and as vast as the sea, instantly sweeping through the entire Huai Tree Alley.

A layer of white frost instantly formed on the bluestone slabs, and the surrounding temperature plummeted to freezing.

Crack.

The bluestone bricks under Cao Yong's feet cracked inch by inch, turning into powder.

"Thump, thump..."

Several Constables could no longer bear this pressure; their knees went weak, and they knelt heavily on the ground, their bodies trembling like chaff. Old Knife Liu's face was also deathly pale, and he bit his teeth tightly to barely maintain a standing posture.

Cao Yong's eyes were cold, as if looking at a group of ants.

"Eunuch Cao."

Suddenly, a cold voice broke the suffocating silence on the long street.

Lin Wan walked to the front, though since the person opposite was a Cultivator of the Upper Three Grades, even she was affected by this Aura.

However, she still spoke in a deep voice:

"This place is a crime scene, and Six Doors is currently investigating." Lin Wan looked directly into Cao Yong's eyes, her tone neither humble nor arrogant: "Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter; I ask that the Eunuch please turn back."

Cao Yong narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze landing on Lin Wan.

He naturally recognized this direct descendant of the Lin Family.

If it were normal times, he might have used this as a pretext to exert official authority and take the opportunity to beat down the Lin Family.

But now that the Family tax had been suspended and he was entangled in quite a few troubles, more importantly, the identity of the person who acted against him was still unknown.

Cao Yong looked at Lin Wan coldly, the Innate Realm pressure around him slowly receding a bit, but that condescending coldness did not diminish in the slightest.

"Constable Lin." Cao Yong spoke, his voice cold and hard as iron, "These two were my subordinates."

Lin Wan's heart stirred, but she remained calm on the surface: "Since the Eunuch recognizes them, could you provide some clues? These two died in a miserable state; they clearly encountered an enemy."

She naturally knew these two were Cao Yong's men; that waist medallion was still in her hand.

However, she hadn't expected those two deceased to be Cao Yong's lieutenants.

Cao Yong ignored her probing, his gaze passing over her to scan the traces of the battle in the courtyard once again.

"Constable Lin, what have you found out?"

Lin Wan pondered for a moment and said truthfully: "The killer used a blade; there are not many signs of a prolonged struggle at the scene, indicating that the deceased had almost no power to fight back when facing the killer."

She paused and added: "In addition, some broken silver needles were found at the scene, which seem to be hidden weapons fired by the deceased before their death, but they were forcefully shattered by the killer's tyrannical protective True Qi."

"Used a blade... protective True Qi..." Cao Yong chewed on these words in a low voice, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

He naturally recognized those Pear Blossom Needles; to be able to achieve this so easily, one must be at least a Peak Return to Truth Realm expert.

There were many experts in the capital who used blades, but very few could achieve this and possess such tyrannical protective True Qi.

Who exactly was it?

A political rival in the imperial court? An enemy from the Jianghu? Or perhaps... someone from the Longque Division?

Cao Yong was silent for a moment and took a deep look at Lin Wan.

"I have long heard that Constable Lin is efficient in handling cases."

He turned around, his red python cloak rustling in the night wind like a night owl spreading its wings.

"Continue investigating this case. If there is any clue about the killer..." Cao Yong turned his head slightly, "Deliver it directly to my mansion."

Having said that, he did not linger and stepped towards the end of the long street.

Seemingly taking a leisurely stroll, he was actually shrinking the ground into inches; within just a few breaths, he disappeared into the vast night.

Not until Cao Yong's Aura had completely faded did the Constables on the long street collapse to the ground in relief, gasping for air as if they had just returned from the gates of hell.

Lin Wan stood in place, watching the direction in which Cao Yong had left, a look of gravity flashing in her clear eyes.

Cao Yong's reaction was more intense than she had imagined.

It seemed these people were extremely important to Cao Yong.

Lin Wan took a deep breath, suppressed the doubts in her heart, and turned to instruct Old Knife Liu: "Clean up as soon as possible and return to the yamen."

Meanwhile.

In the south of the city, a secluded and quiet courtyard.

Chen Ran pushed open the door and locked the latch behind him.

There were no lights in the room; only the cold moonlight spilled through the window lattice onto the blue brick floor, as if covered with a layer of frost.

He walked to the table and casually placed his long blade on it, making a dull, soft sound.

Then, he took off the night-traveling clothes that were stained with a bit of blood.

Although he had acted extremely quickly when killing, not much blood had splattered onto him, but there was still a faint smell of blood.

Chen Ran walked to the brazier in the corner, ignited a wisp of True Qi at his fingertips, and flicked his finger; sparks fell into the basin, instantly igniting the night-traveling clothes.

The firelight leaped, illuminating his calm face.

The clothes in the brazier quickly turned into a pile of ashes, and along with the smell of blood, they were completely erased.

Chen Ran clapped his hands, preparing to hide the black blade.

Suddenly, he paused.

He turned his head, his gaze passing through the window lattice, looking towards the direction of Huai Tree Alley in the north of the city.

Although he had left that place for a long time, his [Heavenly Net] perception had always been placed there.

Just at that moment, his keen perception captured an extremely obscure yet extremely terrifying fluctuation of Aura.

Although that Aura had become very weak after crossing more than half of the capital, the pressure and anger contained within it were as clear as thunder in the dark night.

"Innate Realm Aura..."

Chen Ran whispered, a faint arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

Calculating the time, the people from Six Doors should have arrived at the scene.

And as for the owner of that Aura, apart from Cao Yong, there could be no one else.

It seemed this cabinet minister had already seen the "masterpiece" he had left behind.

Three capable subordinates, all died in a few days, and even their corpses were displayed openly.

Cao Yong's anger at this moment could be imagined.

"This is just the beginning."

Chen Ran withdrew his gaze, his eyes silent, without any ripples.

Since Cao Yong dared to reach out to him, he should be prepared to have his claws severed.

These three lieutenants were just interest.

The real reckoning was yet to come.

Chen Ran walked to the bedside and sat down cross-legged.

The night deepened.

With a thought, he summoned the heavenly book of prison suppression.

A golden light emerged in his Sea of Consciousness, and then the ancient book slowly opened.

Several messages appeared on the panel.

Hyena and Blood Eagle had already been recorded into the heavenly book of prison suppression by him previously, and as Cao Yong's right-hand men, they had naturally accumulated a large amount of sin over the years.

Chen Ran focused his attention on the panel.

[You personally beheaded the prisoner Blood Eagle, calculating participation.]

[You personally beheaded the prisoner Hyena, calculating participation.]

[You received a reward: Five years of cultivation.]

[You received a reward: Five years of cultivation.]

Several messages popped up.

However, those two were ultimately low-combat-power individuals, and since they hadn't been locked in the heavenly prison, the rewards for beheading them were average.

"It's a pity that the beast-taming method of that person didn't drop."

Chen Ran slowly shook his head; he had been somewhat interested in that person's ancient Cultivation Technique, but he didn't take it to heart.

After all, these two were not prisoners in the heavenly prison but were forcibly recorded into the heavenly book by him; it was already good to receive rewards.

Hum.

Ten years of cultivation rose up and finally flowed into his limbs and bones; in the end, only Chen Ran's long and steady breathing remained.

The moonlight was like water, shining on his cold and clear face, like a jade sculpture.

Tomorrow's capital was destined not to be peaceful.

But he only needed to wait and see.