Full-Level Fierce Person
Chapter 306 - 188 Bolan_2

Chapter 306: 188 Bolan_2

The person who killed Shen Zhiyue actually possessed a Third-Level weapon, which meant his identity must have been either rich or noble, of an extraordinary status.

Shen Yutang asked, "Have you found any clues?"

The middle-aged man in white replied, "Due to the big fire and the rain, there are very few clues. However, the house servants who were killed were all bitten to death while alive, apparently by some kind of Mutant Beast, and its teeth carried a deadly poison."

Shen Yutang furrowed his brows and said, "Oh, so the murderer had a Mutant Beast with him? Mutant Beasts are fierce and hard to tame, and there aren’t many that can be domesticated."

The middle-aged man in white deeply agreed and nodded, "We can almost determine that the murderer has raised a Mutant Beast as a pet, which can assist him in killing people."

Shen Yutang’s eyes flashed, and he pondered, "What about the footprints? Can you determine which Mutant Beast it is through the footprints?"

The middle-aged man in white replied, "Due to the rain, the footprints are very blurred; we can only roughly determine that the Mutant Beast had four legs."

"A four-legged Mutant Beast..."

Shen Yutang immediately thought of several possibilities, wolves, four-legged snakes, cats, among others.

But he could not be sure which Mutant Beast it was, and said directly, "It should be quite rare to see a man and a beast together in the camp, attention-grabbing; there must have been many who saw them, issue a reward for finding witnesses."

The middle-aged man in white promptly replied, "I have already spread the word."

Shen Yutang nodded approvingly, then asked, "What else?"

The middle-aged man in white said, "Last night, Bright Moon Inn also caught fire, and before the fire, someone heard the sound of fighting."

Shen Yutang stood up, paced with his hands behind back, and said, "Both Bright Moon Inn and Tingyu Pavilion catching fire at the same time, this can’t possibly be a coincidence."

At this, Shen Yutang suddenly felt something was missing, looked around, and asked, "Where are the people from Five-Color Hall? Why haven’t they arrived yet?"

The middle-aged man in white replied, "I have already sent someone to notify Five-Color Hall, but for some reason, their people have not yet arrived."

About half an hour later...

Someone from Five-Color Hall finally arrived and reported, "The five Hall Masters suddenly went out last night and have not returned yet, their whereabouts unknown, and we have been trying to find them."

Shen Yutang’s face changed, bewildered, "Five grown men go out together, and you know nothing about it?"

The man trembled and replied, "The five Hall Masters were on a secret mission and did not inform anyone."

Seeing this, the middle-aged man in white quickly made inquiries and came back to report, "I have asked around, and last night no one had instructions for Five-Color Hall."

Shen Yutang felt perplexed and mused, "Anyone who can order all five Hall Masters of Five-Color Hall at once must be from the higher echelons of our Shen family..."

Suddenly, he thought of something, his eyes narrowing, "Could the person commanding Five-Color Hall be my son Zhiyue?"

The middle-aged man also shuddered and quickly added, "That’s possible! The young master might have encountered some difficulty that required all five of them to handle, but something went wrong in the process, leading to the young master’s murder."

Shen Yutang clenched his teeth and said, "It’s likely that those five from Five-Color Hall have met their fates as well."

At that moment, the direct descendants of the Shen family came one after another, including the principal lady and the entrusted eldest son, Shen Zhiyan, and so on.

The murder of Shen Zhiyue caused a huge shock.

"Besides those rebels, who else would dare to fatally strike at a scion of an aristocratic family?"

"Only another more powerful aristocratic family could dare to kill a descendant of another aristocracy without any scruples!"

"In Qinghe County, which aristocratic family harbors the deepest enmity towards our Shen family?"

The crowd speculated wildly about who the murderer could be.

...

...

Yixiang House!

The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping.

After noon, Fang Zhixing woke up from his sleep, yawned, and felt rejuvenated once again.

He had traveled overnight and had gone to sleep as soon as he arrived back.

"Hongye, have any new tasks come up during the two days I was away?"

Fang Zhixing dressed and got out of bed, went downstairs into the study, and sat down on the chair.

Hongye brought over a cup of hot tea and replied softly, "Yes, a new task came in yesterday afternoon; I had Ma Zhengming take care of it."

Fang Zhixing took a sip of tea and unfolded the scroll to read.

"Immediately head 190 li south of the city to White Crane Lake, pretend to be an assassin and attack Yan Hongtao, scare her, and then you can leave."

Fang Zhixing’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he said quietly, "Why is it Yan Hongtao again?"

Hongye chuckled and said, "Yan Hongtao is Tian Taixing’s darling; as long as anything happens to Yan Hongtao, Tian Taixing will be tied down, unable to do anything."

Fang Zhixing understood and responded, "This task is very simple; Ma Zhengming should be able to handle it."

Hongye nodded and smiled, "Yes, do not worry, the task has already been successfully completed."

At this point, she softly added, "Master, I did not inform the eldest son and the lady of the house about your departure, they do not know you went out for a private matter."

Fang Zhixing’s heart leapt with joy.

Hongye had always been a loyal servant to Luo Keji and Dong Minzhu.

Her daily duties, besides assisting Fang Zhixing, were to monitor his every move and report back to her masters whenever necessary.

But now, she was gradually wavering and leaning towards Fang Zhixing’s side.

"Is this what long-term affection looks like?"

Fang Zhixing’s mood instantly became extremely pleased as he expertly unbuckled his jade belt, pulled Hongye over, and held her head down.

Hongye chidingly complained, cast a resentful look at Fang Zhixing, obediently lowered her head, and opened her cherry lips.

Two days passed in a flash.

That afternoon, Fang Zhixing once again received an invitation to a wine party from Miss Wu’s family.

With nothing else to do, Fang Zhixing decided to join in the fun as a way to pass the time.

He leisurely walked into the hall.

Indeed, the hall was once again bursting with people, buzzing with excitement.

Fang Zhixing, however, remained his usual self, picked up a cup of wine, and stood alone in a corner, like an outsider.

"Are you sure? Shen Zhiyue was killed?"

Suddenly, an exclamation reached his ears.

Fang Zhixing maintained his composure, his ears perked up.

A few ladies of prominent families were chattering animatedly not far away.

"Yes, I and Shen Jiaojiao are inseparable best friends; she told me herself."

"How is it possible? Shen Zhiyue was from the Four Beasts Realm, wasn’t he? Strong in his prowess, who could possibly kill him?"

"I’m not sure, the Shen family is using all their resources to find the assassin, but there are rumors that the murderer might be a master beast tamer, who keeps a Mutant Beast by his side."

"That’s a broad category. I also own a Mutant Beast, a cute short-eared rabbit."

"Hehe, I own a fat-clawed cat, with such chubby paws, super adorable!"

...

The conversation among the young ladies quickly shifted from the homicide to pet keeping.

Fang Zhixing focused his mind and sipped the wine indifferently.

"Alone?"

Suddenly, someone approached him.

Fang Zhixing turned his head and saw that it was none other than Prince Lu Yu from the Martial Alliance.

Fang Zhixing put on a smile, humbled himself, and with a bow said, "I have seen Prince Lu, my apologies."

Lu Yu turned, leaned against the wall, and sighed softly, "Actually, I am like you, not part of this circle. They are either noble families or powerful figures while I am merely a man from Jianghu."

Fang Zhixing flattered, "Not at all, sir, you are too modest. You are the future hope of the Martial Alliance, and everyone holds you in high esteem."

Lu Yu chuckled, "You are not bad either; I heard your Power Charge Slash is impressively powerful. Let’s spar sometime."

Fang Zhixing replied, "It’s a minor skill, not worthy of mention."

Lu Yu seemed to have mentioned it in passing and did not take it seriously, quickly changing the subject, he whispered, "Have you heard, Shen Zhiyue of the Shen Family’s direct line, was slaughtered."

He made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes betraying an unmistakable pleasure.

"Really?!"

Fang Zhixing exclaimed in disbelief, "Who could be so bold as to kill a noble family’s descendant? That’s a crime punishable by the execution of the offender’s entire family!"

Lu Yu curled his lips, "There have been many rumors already; some are pointing fingers at our Martial Alliance, claiming that the murderer is one of our own, even threatening to force our hand to surrender the culprit."

Fang Zhixing quickly retorted, "The Martial Alliance has long pledged loyalty, adhering strictly to the rules; it simply couldn’t commit such an outrageous act."

Lu Yu shook his head and gave a wry smile, "If everyone thought like you, that would be great, but unfortunately!"

Fang Zhixing fell silent, then countered, "According to Prince Lu’s insight, who might the culprit be?"

Lu Yu smirked, whispering, "By my guess, it might be a case of a dog eat dog."

Fang Zhixing blinked, "Are you suggesting that this is an internal conflict among the noble families?"

Lu Yu nodded slightly, "Relations among the noble families are quite intricate indeed, hardly as serene as it looks, not to mention not crossing each other’s boundaries."

He mentioned, "Currently, the Luo family and the Tian family are locked in fierce competition, and the Shen family being a smaller noble family fostered by the court, stands with the Tian family."