278: Murder on a Dark and Windy Night (asking for monthly tickets)

Chen Yuan silently watched An Ge and her son disappear into the vast night, standing in the rustling mountain wind for a long while.

When he turned around again, looking in the direction of Fu City, his originally gentle gaze gradually became indifferent and ruthless.

Then, his figure blurred in place, as if blown away by the mountain wind, disappearing without a trace.

After half an incense stick of tea, Chen Yuan's figure appeared before the Xuntian Great Hall. At present, he had to guard Yunding Mountain at all times, otherwise, without a leader, trouble might arise.

He had too many matters to handle!

Therefore, he could only escort An Ge a few dozen miles outside the city.

The armored guards stationed at the entrance knelt on one knee to greet him. One of them reported,

"This General, Cavalry General Yun and two Councilors are waiting for you in the hall."

Chen Yuan nodded, having already seen the three figures in the hall, and strode inside.

Upon entering, he saw Cloud Skyborn, as well as Gao Yu and General Fan Chou, the two Recorders, quickly coming forward to salute him.

Chen Yuan waved his hand, "Dispense with it."

He then walked past the three, strode to the main seat, sat down grandly, and then shifted his gaze to Gao Yu and the other Councilor.

"How are you two handling things?"

"Reporting, This General, the Ninth Mountain's soldiers in Fu City, regarding their commendations and casualty pensions, a total of five hundred forty-nine commendation documents have been read. For the Ninth Mountain's soldiers in other Fu Cities, it's a bit more complex, requiring coordination with various prefectures. It's expected that the dispatch of troops will be completed in the next two days," the big, dark man, General Fan Chou, stepped forward, bowing and reporting.

Chen Yuan nodded, "You must ensure these arrangements are in place. If any oversight occurs, causing my Ninth Mountain's soldiers to suffer injustice, this This General will hold you accountable."

"Yes!"

Chen Yuan then shifted his gaze to Gao Yu. Gao Yu immediately stepped forward, "Reporting, This General, this subordinate went to Cavalry General Yun's side today to read out the commendations and happened to catch four typical families. I informed the South City Guard Division and arrested the direct descendants of several families."

Saying this, Councilor Gao's eyebrows slightly raised, and his tone lightened, "I specifically came to ask for your instructions, This General. What should be done next?"

"What should be done?" Chen Yuan pondered for a moment, then his gaze fell on Cloud Skyborn, who had appeared here unexpectedly.

Cloud Skyborn had already been here once today.

Why was he running to Yunding Mountain in the middle of the night instead of staying at the Yun Family?

"Tiansheng, at this hour, what business do you have with this This General?"

Cloud Skyborn heard this and also stepped forward, his expression stern, "This General, that person from the Liu Family has already begun to act!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow, looking at his subordinate, "You were keeping an eye on that person?"

Cloud Skyborn nodded, "Yes, this subordinate was worried!"

"Well done."

He hadn't asked Cloud Skyborn to keep an eye on him, nor was it necessary, but he was willing to reward such behavior.

Chen Yuan's gaze turned towards outside the hall,

"A dark and windy night is a night for murder."

"It seems Liu Tianming has chosen the most direct method. Let's see if this This General has misjudged him."

In the great hall, Gao Yu and General Fan Chou, the two Councilors, felt their hearts chill and exchanged glances.

A dark and windy night is a night for murder. Liu Tianming, that's the second branch of the Liu Family!

And at this moment, in the middle of the night, the Liu Family in West City, located on a lake island called Heming Isle in the west of the city, had a vast expanse of dark water outside the island. On the island, pavilions, terraces, and carved railings were illuminated by a large, sky-blue formation, like a giant bowl inverted over the entire island.

The Liu Family's island protection formation had suddenly activated in the middle of the night!

This formation, in the darkness, was like a large blue crystal bead submerged in the water, brightly dazzling.

It immediately attracted the attention of some people around the large lake.

The Liu Family's island protection formation was usually only activated on important occasions.

Its sudden activation in the middle of the night aroused curiosity.

Thus, figures, one after another, stepped on the waves, treading on the water like arrows released from a bowstring, cutting through white waves, wanting to see what was happening.

When they were still several miles from the island, a stern shout came.

"This is a vital area of the Liu Family. Take another half-step forward, and don't blame us for being ruthless."

"Fellow Daoists of the Liu Family, we are merely curious as to why this island protection formation suddenly activated. We just want to see what happened," one of the newcomers explained.

"Does our Liu Family need to explain its actions to you? Get lost!"

Hmph!

That's more like it!

As a local overlord of West City, the Liu Family always acted like this.

The onlookers were cursed back and dared not provoke them. Soon, the surface of the water became empty.

But in certain places, people in the dark night strained their eyes, their vision exceptionally sharp, piercing through the formation and seeing people throwing bodies into the lake at the island's dock, not just one, but many.

In this large lake, there was a black-canopied boat, seven or eight miles from Heming Isle. On the boat, a silver-haired girl, like an elf, sat at the stern, propping her chin with her hands, admiring the magnificent, huge blue moon that seemed to rise from the lake.

In her hometown, there was also such a scene, only the water there was countless times wider than this.

Suddenly, the white of her dark eyes contracted as she saw people throwing bodies into the lake at the dock, not just one, but many.

The girl's face turned pale, and she quickly ran from the stern to the bow, shaking an old man dressed in rags, with messy hair like ram's horns, and a red nose.

The old man lay at the bow, one hand dangling in the river, the other holding a wine gourd, snoring with his mouth open.

"Drunken old man, drunken old man."

But no matter how she shook him, he wouldn't wake up.

The girl, pouting in anger, pushed the old man into the river. As a result, the old man not only didn't wake up but sank directly. Soon, bubbles gurgled up from below, and immediately after, fish of all kinds floated to the surface.

They seemed to be drunk, swimming a bit before turning belly up, then swimming a bit more.

"It's always like this!" The girl seemed not at all surprised, her bright and beautiful face instead full of resentment. She then quickly ran to the stern, picked up the boat pole, and pushed it in the opposite direction from Heming Isle, paddling in a wobbly manner, which was quite strenuous.

"Dead old man, stinky old man, you tricked me into coming here, saying I would meet my destined benefactor. You said the same thing in Dragon's Lair last time, and I didn't even have a place to stay and had to go hungry."

The girl's resentment was deep, and with a strong push, the boat pole broke.

"Ah!"

The girl roared in impotent rage.

This commotion, in the silent night, was particularly clear.

Soon, sounds came from the direction of Heming Isle.

Figures flew towards the girl's direction.

The girl quickly jumped into the water. The water surface did not splash, but instead enveloped the girl.

The girl's silver hair spread out in the water, illuminating the dark surface. Immediately after, fish of various sizes and types in the water, as if drawn by some attraction, began to circle around the girl, concealing her body.

After about a dozen breaths, two figures appeared on the water, looking at the empty small boat floating on the surface.

"Search!" A voice sounded.

Then, the two figures took out an egg-sized blue pearl, shimmering with circles of blue ripples, and threw it into the water. It moved to both sides, and the two figures followed the pearl, searching the water on both sides. For an area of about five or six miles, the blue pearl showed no reaction.

This was a unique Artifact Refining technique of the Liu Family, called the Wave-Turning Pearl. Through this pearl, one could detect things in the water and also use True Qi to control waves against enemies. Only Qi Refining practitioners could use it.

The two met again, and then a conversation, faintly tinged with excitement, was heard,

"It seems there's no one!"

"Never mind, let's hurry back. We can't let the people of the main branch escape."

The two left, and the commotion ceased.

Not long after, the silver-haired girl surfaced from the water, her clothes and hair untouched by it. Sparkling water droplets rolled down her hair, hitting the water surface.

The girl used her delicate hands to stroke the water, "Go, go."

The surrounding fish seemed to understand, circling around the girl a few times before leaving.

At this moment, the girl looked up, ready to return to the boat, and saw an old man with hair like ram's horns on the sides and a bald spot in the middle, squatting on the boat's stern, smiling at her.

The girl's small face immediately flushed with anger. She jumped onto the boat, grabbed the old man's hair and tugged at it, "Stinky old man, dead old man, send me back to Dragon's Lair! I don't want to stay here anymore."

The old man with the red nose made strange 'oh oh ah ah' noises, "Don't pull, don't pull, my little ancestor. I'll take you to eat something delicious tomorrow."

Hearing 'eat', the girl's eyes immediately lit up, "Where, where?"

She also squatted beside him, her eyes shining.

The old man with the red nose pointed to Heming Isle, raising one hand and pinching his fingers, looking very serious, "This old man has calculated with his fingers, it's right here."

The silver-haired girl's eyes flared with anger, "Stinky old man, you're tricking me again. Didn't you see that many people died on this island?"

The old man with the red nose looked at the silver-haired girl with a serious expression, "Our custom here is to have a feast when people die."

Saying this, the old man narrowed his eyes and chuckled:

"Moreover, this is a joyous feast, a dog-eat-dog situation, none of them are good people."

"So feel free to eat then."

"Then I'll believe you!" The girl was very happy.

Just as this strange duo was discussing having a feast, at this moment, within the blue island protection formation of Heming Isle, a strong smell of blood assailed the nostrils. In one central courtyard, along the corridors and pathways, bodies lay scattered, all of them Liu Family's cultivated guard Martial Artists. There was also a large group of people, held together by torch-wielding figures, confined in an open space.

At this moment, in a tall, exquisite, upturned-eaved pavilion in front of the open space, sounds of angry, resentful curses and frightened cries rose.

In one room, by the light, two rows of elegantly dressed men and women were bound and kneeling on the ground. These were the remaining core members of the main branch, including frightened wives and concubines, and nephews of the main branch who wished to kill him.

"Liu Tianming, I will not let you go even as a ghost."

"Second brother, you will die a terrible death! How could you drug us?"

"Second Master, this servant is willing to serve you, please spare my life, , , ,"

"."

"Pfft!"

Suddenly, a crimson splash of blood splattered on the window, and a scream abruptly ceased. In the flickering candlelight's reflection, a figure fell.

Then, screams rose one after another, and figures fell one by one. The entire window of that room was completely stained red.

When the screams stopped.

After a few breaths, with a 'creak,' the door of a room opened.

Under the firelight, a somewhat dark-skinned middle-aged man with a missing piece of his lower lip, dressed in a black robe, with a gloomy demeanor, stepped out of the doorway.

And the bloodstains behind him were incredibly dazzling.

Upon seeing his appearance, the figures under the torches in the pavilion's open space bowed deeply, shouting in unison, filled with excitement.

"Greetings, Family Head!"

And those who were detained on the ground raised their heads in terror and also shouted along with the cry.

"Haha..."

On the pavilion, the black-clad figure's dyed eyebrows rose, letting out a wild laugh.

After he finished laughing, his expression darkened.

"Liu Tiansheng lost the people's hearts and committed monstrous sins, putting my Liu Family in danger. Today, I, Liu Tianming, will righteously eliminate my kin and restore prosperity to the Liu Family."

"At dawn, send invitations to all families. From now on, I will be the head of the Liu Family. Let those fellows come and see."

"Heh heh!"

"Clean everything up, and notify people to prepare the banquet. Be quick, understand?" Liu Tianming's eyes flickered, already somewhat impatient, and that This General, he presumed, would also be pleased.

Since he had embarked on this path, he naturally had to make others consider it too. He couldn't bear the infamy alone. When everyone did the same, the day of reshuffling would arrive.

"Yes!"