400: Lu Xuan’s thoughts on the bizarre murder case twenty years ago.

Chapter 392: The Bizarre Murder Case from Twenty Years Ago, Lu Xuan's Thoughts.

They came in a rush and left in a rush.

Huang Tangming and his entourage, who had been sitting in the Lu family living room just moments before, rose to bid farewell after only a short ten-odd minutes, their steps carrying an undeniable sense of urgency.

The deliberate composure they had maintained during their earlier conversation had long dissipated; now, Huang Tangming walked at the forefront, his lips uncontrollably curving upwards, his eyes gleaming with an uncontainable excitement.

Huang Tangming and his group silently walked through the Lu family’s long corridor, which was covered with a dark-patterned carpet. Their footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet, leaving only the faint sounds of their breathing.

They continued until they reached the main entrance of the Lu family villa, where a driver respectfully opened the door for them.

At this moment, Huang Tangming suddenly stopped, turned sideways, and slightly lowered his head, speaking in a hushed tone audible only to him and the two elderly men beside him.

“Old Chen, Old Feng,” Huang Tangming’s voice still carried a slight, lingering tremor, yet it conveyed an undeniable sense of entrustment.

“I’ll have to trouble the two of you with matters here; please ensure everything is handled thoroughly.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two, then added, “Once we return to the The Capital, we’ll find a quiet place to gather properly, and we can discuss certain things in detail then.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Tangming, without waiting for a response, stepped out the door and got into the black sedan that was already waiting outside.

The car window slowly rose, completely concealing the expression on his face, leaving Old Chen and Old Feng standing there, exchanging a glance, a strange look flashing in both their eyes.

No one knew that Huang Tangming’s secret journey to Yifeng Province, bypassing those officials, was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but a task personally entrusted by his father in his study back in the The Capital.

The serious tone of that instruction still echoed in Huang Tangming’s ears, leaving him no room for complacency.

Beyond this “mission,” Huang Tangming also harbored an untold secret in his heart.

What he truly wanted to confirm was whether the long-unseen Grandmaster Lu Xuan was still as robust as he had been back then.

One must know, Grandmaster Lu Xuan was a legendary figure in the National Art world of Dragon Country, one of the existences standing at the Peak.

The title “Foremost Grandmaster of Internal Refinement” was by no means an empty boast; those iron fists once dominated the north and south of the great river, forging a formidable reputation in countless tough battles.

Looking across the entire Dragon Country, those who could withstand a few moves from him were few and far between.

Now, after so many years, whether this legend still possessed his former strength had become Huang Tangming’s most important objective for this trip.

The reason Huang Tangming was so concerned was not mere curiosity.

Recently, the high-level officials of Dragon Country were preparing for an extremely important matter, one that concerned the nation's destiny for many years to come and allowed no room for error.

The core of the mission precisely required several top-tier National Art masters to execute it collaboratively.

The strength of each participant directly influenced the success or failure of the mission, and Grandmaster Lu Xuan’s condition naturally became a crucial link in this chain.

Just moments ago in the living room, Huang Tangming was secretly pondering Grandmaster Lu Xuan’s condition, his heart still harboring some uncertainty, but he didn't expect what would happen next.

An old yet powerful voice, without any warning, entered his ears.

The voice seemed to be right next to his ear, so clear that one could feel the power in each word.

Yet, looking around, his companions Old Chen, Old Feng, and Lu Yuliang showed no reaction, indicating that only he could hear this voice.

“Go back and tell your father,” Lu Xuan’s voice carried the steady wisdom of years, yet it also held a hint of unstoppable sharpness.

“These past few years, this old body of mine has not only not deteriorated, but has even improved somewhat. If I were to exert myself for a few more years, there would still be no problem at all.”

These words were like a reassurance, instantly settling into Huang Tangming’s heart, causing all his previous conjectures and worries to vanish into thin air.

He suddenly looked up in Lu Xuan’s direction, just in time to meet his gaze, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips.

That smile held the clarity of understanding everything, the expectation for the younger generation, and the calm confidence befitting a Great Grandmaster of Dragon Country.

This image became a lasting impression that Huang Tangming would never forget, no matter when he recalled it in the years to come.

What truly stirred Huang Tangming’s heart, however, was Grandmaster Lu Xuan’s mysterious technique of “sound transmission into the ear.”

Even though the two were several meters apart, with several people in between, Grandmaster’s voice seemed to have eyes, precisely entering only his ears, while others heard nothing.

This level of control was simply miraculous.

Huang Tangming’s fingers, gripping the car door handle, involuntarily tightened. His mind replayed the scene repeatedly—how could such a skill be seen in reality?

It was clearly an exclusive ability of those peerless masters, who lived in seclusion in deep mountains and looked down upon all beings, as seen in TV dramas he used to watch.

The thought of personally witnessing such a “legendary technique,” combined with Grandmaster’s remark about “having improved,” intensified the shock in Huang Tangming’s heart, making him involuntarily soften his breathing.

Decades ago, Grandmaster Lu Xuan was already a figure at the Peak of the Grandmaster of Internal Refinement, his iron fists commanding respect throughout the entire National Art world.

Now, even such a top-tier master explicitly stated “having improved.” Just imagining the power contained behind that statement made Huang Tangming’s heart involuntarily beat faster.

That was by no means a simple increase in strength; perhaps it was an unimaginable level that had already surpassed previous Realms.

Thinking of this, Huang Tangming’s long-held anxiety finally completely subsided, a confident smile unconsciously gracing his lips.

He looked up at the rapidly receding scenery outside the car window, an answer already forming in his heart.

The mission to the Great Eagle Federation a month later, with a powerhouse like Grandmaster Lu Xuan overseeing it, would surely be foolproof.

And those three scientific researchers, trapped in a foreign country and wholeheartedly loyal to their nation, would surely return safely to the embrace of their homeland.

They would unleash their talents on this land, using their knowledge to contribute to the nation's future.

Lu Yuliang stood at the main entrance of the Lu family, his gaze fixed on the taillights of the three black sedans.

It wasn’t until the black blurs completely disappeared, leaving no trace, that he slowly retracted his gaze, still pondering the unusual departure of Huang Tangming and his group.

After a dozen seconds, he turned and walked back into the living room. Just as he rounded the screen, he saw his father, Lu Xuan, sitting on the sofa, engrossed in a newspaper.

The warm yellow sunlight fell on his father’s grey temples, yet it did not diminish the focused intensity in his eyes.

This scene made Lu Yuliang’s expression suddenly turn a bit strange, and his footsteps instinctively paused.

“Dad,” he walked over and sat on the single sofa nearby, carefully beginning, “Why did you suddenly become interested in understanding the social situation of Yifeng Province?”

His father had always been indifferent to worldly affairs, rarely paying attention even to TV news or mobile entertainment, let alone newspapers that required word-by-word reading.

But these past few days, his father seemed to have suddenly changed, not only steadfastly flipping through newspapers every day but also specifically picking out strange and unusual stories.

He would glance at ordinary livelihood news and put it down, but he was particularly interested in reports marked “bizarre cases” in the corners of the pages.

The more bizarre and perplexing the case, the more engrossed he became, sometimes even turning the newspaper over and over to ponder it.

That earnestness made Lu Yuliang truly unable to fathom his father’s thoughts.

Lu Xuan did not reply immediately, his gaze fixed on a particularly striking headline.

The text clearly read: “News has emerged again regarding the bizarre death case of three female university students twenty years ago. Is it a legendary ghost harming people, or a real culprit impersonating ghosts and gods to kill… ”

The content below also mentioned: “According to an old security guard at Yingnan City University, he once saw a white car entering and exiting the campus that year, but because it was too late, he didn’t pay attention…”

However, before Lu Xuan could discern the subsequent details, there was suddenly a prominent line of large characters at the end of the text— “For more details, scan the QR code and follow Qianliao Technology’s primary media account.”

Lu Xuan stared at the text prompting attention, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, a hint of speechlessness quickly flashing in his eyes.

The words “ghosts harming people” and “real culprits impersonating ghosts and gods” in the newspaper—he could almost recite these contents by heart.

It was nothing more than unscrupulous media repeatedly hyping up the details from back then, dissecting a long-settled cold case into fragments, and then wrapping it in a layer of sensationalism.

Ultimately, it was merely an attempt to leverage some unresolved old cases to gain explosive traffic and garner a wave of attention.

That being said, although these media outlets were rehashing old news for traffic, they inadvertently brought these dusty cold cases back into public view.

It could be considered, at least, giving those who died unjustly a few more chances to be remembered, and also a way of speaking out for them indirectly.

At the very least, Lu Xuan had set his sights on this bizarre case from twenty years ago.

The word “ghosts,” which made others change color and avoid it, became the most fervent “desire” in his eyes.

For the current Lu Xuan, those supernatural existences, rumored to be incredibly mysterious, were not a source of fear at all; instead, they were what he most urgently wanted to find at this moment.

After all, only these things could provide him with enough System points, allowing him to quickly Breakthrough this Mortal World.

Host: Red Dust Immortal Lu Xuan (Fifth Incarnation)

Realm: Grandmaster of Baodan (Initial Entry)

Cultivation Technique: Wanhui Guilongquan 5/9

Points: 1590

Lu Xuan looked up at Lu Yuliang, who was lost in thought beside him, his voice not loud but carrying an undeniable weight: “Yuliang, look into this female university student case from twenty years ago. Gather all relevant records.

“Whether it’s police files or media reports, organize them for me.”

Lu Yuliang hadn’t yet recovered from his confusion about “Dad paying attention to cold cases,” nor had he had time to respond.

Then he saw the newspaper, which had been under his father’s fingertips, suddenly “move without wind.”

The newspaper seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, floating lightly from the air and settling steadily into his open palm, without even a single wrinkle on its edges.

This effortlessly performed feat instantly sobered Lu Yuliang, and his hand, holding the newspaper, involuntarily tightened.

The confusion that had just lingered in his mind was instantly replaced by a strange solemnity.

Lu Yuliang looked down at the newspaper in his palm. As his gaze swept over the words “Yingnan City University,” his face instantly changed from calm to pale, then was tinged with a steely grey.

It wasn’t because of the “ghost” sensationalism in the report, but because he was not at all unfamiliar with this murder case.

Twenty years ago, he was one of the heads of the Criminal Division of the Yingnan City Security Bureau. He had led the team in investigating the bizarre death case of these three female university students for a full three months.

But the final outcome remained unforgettable for him to this day: no fingerprints or footprints were left at the scene, and the autopsy could not determine a clear cause of death.

All clues were cut off halfway, as if completely extinguished by an invisible hand. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the case became a cold case, buried deep in the archives.

Lu Yuliang took a deep breath, his voice tinged with melancholy, slowly recalling the details from back then.

“Dad, no need to organize it. I know this murder case best.”

“All three victims lived in Dorm Room 506 of Building D in the Yingnan City University female dormitory.

The first girl jumped from upstairs late at night and died first. Less than a week later, the other two girls also jumped from the same place—that is, in front of Dorm Room 506—one after another.”

At this point, Lu Yuliang’s brows furrowed even tighter, his tone filled with the confusion from back then: “Dad, the most inexplicable part is that Building D only has 6 floors in total.”

“Immediately after the first murder, we immediately sealed off the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors of Building D. We not only locked them but also arranged guards to stand watch downstairs.”

“But no one knew how those two girls managed to break through the blockade and get to the front of Dorm Room 506.”

Lu Yuliang’s voice deepened a bit, his fingertips gently stroking the edge of the newspaper: “At that time, there were only four girls in Dorm Room 506 in total. Three were gone, leaving only one survivor.”

He paused, his voice carrying a hint of regret from back then, “We listed her as a key suspect at the time, but after all the investigations, she was truly innocent.”

“She had an exceptionally good relationship with the three deceased. Their daily interactions were just normal playful banter and laughter between girls; there was no hint of grievances or disputes, so she had no motive to harm anyone.”

“What’s even stranger is that less than half a month after the murders, that girl completely went mad, constantly muttering nonsense like ‘black shadow,’ ‘don’t look for me,’ ‘I’m scared of ghosts…’”

“Finally, the girl was sent by her family to Yingnan City First Mental Hospital, and I heard she hasn’t recovered all these years.”

“Of course, we also consulted a psychiatrist back then, who said she simply couldn’t cope with the consecutive loss of her good friends, and her spirit, under long-term tension, collapsed. It was a normal stress reaction; there was no such thing as ghosts appearing.”

As Lu Yuliang spoke, he deliberately emphasized the words “no ghosts,” as if trying to convince his father, and perhaps himself.

But as soon as he finished speaking, his face darkened again, his brows furrowing tightly—the recent troubles at home involuntarily flashed through his mind.

His nephew and niece were harmed by a warlock, left barely alive, and even encountered the bizarre scene of vengeful spirits claiming lives, images that still sent shivers down his spine when he recalled them.

“It seems that the deaths of those three female students back then, should, or perhaps… ” Lu Yuliang’s words trailed off halfway, his voice suddenly stopping, the remaining speculation stuck in his throat, even he himself dared not easily speak it aloud.

If the family’s incident wasn’t a coincidence, then the cold case from twenty years ago might not be as simple as it appeared on the surface.