In an eerie courtyard, a mile away from Shu Yang, Liang Cong stood beside a few other Officials, looking grim.
"You're from Baishu, right?" Captain Huo, a 9th-grade Official and Captain of the police in Chunsi Town, asked Liang Cong.
"That's right," Liang Cong answered.
"Do you know this Lu family?" Captain Huo asked.
"I'm afraid not, but I should be able to get information about them easily. I'll have some local friends ask around if they had any enemies who might be suspects." Liang Cong answered, doing his best to appear calm and competent.
Even though he was a 9th-grade Official thanks to his brother, he knew he had to convince the other Officials that he belonged there. These past two years, he had really been on his best behaviour after his brother's warning. But he never had a chance to prove himself.
'This is an opportunity.' Liang Cong thought, slightly excited.
"Good, I'll leave it to you then," Captain Huo said, "Have a report ready by tonight."
"Yes, Captain," Liang Cong said respectfully. Even if they were both 9th-grade Officials, Captain Huo held a higher position, and he was likely to advance to the 8th-grade in the future, so Liang Cong showed him due respect.
"No need to trouble yourselves," A voice suddenly sounded.
Liang Cong and Captain Huo frowned as they saw a young man walk out of the house where the massacre had occurred.
"Who are you?" Liang Cong asked angrily, "Do you realize this is a crime scene? Disrupting our investigation is a serious crime."
The young man gave Liang Cong a brief look of disdain and then turned to Captain Huo.
"Shen Ye," The man introduced himself, pulling out a token the size of his palm, "I'll take care of this."
Liang Cong frowned, but seeing the token, he trembled slightly.
"So it's young master Shen," Captain Huo said, bowing politely. Liang Cong hurriedly followed suit, not daring to show any disrespect.
'What is a 4th-grade Official doing here!? Who is this man?'
-
Two days passed, and Shu Yang sat on his porch in the dark, listening to the surroundings carefully.
He had been guarding the house during the night these days, not daring to be the least bit lazy.
'Hopefully, they can catch the culprit soon. Living like this is a little nerve-wrecking.'
Shu Yang had been going around the village these days, asking around for information, but there were only rumors; the Office hadn't announced anything yet.
Bored, Shu Yang stood up and started wandering around the yard. He had been sleeping during the day, but it was far from enough, so he would still get sleepy at this hour. To keep himself awake and alert, he tried to keep his body somewhat active.
He came up on a patch of dirt where he had buried a few bottles of wine a couple of months earlier.
Shu Yang had been thinking about starting a business lately. Saving money to buy up more land would of course be the main directive to accumulate wealth, but now that he wasn't far from reaching the 1st-grade stage, he felt it was time to try to expand the family business a little. He was strong enough to be somewhat wealthy, and he wouldn't need to worry about attracting greedy people just through running a small business in Chunsi Town.
He had thought a lot about what he could do, perhaps using some of his knowledge from his previous life. In the end, he thought that wine-making was the most suitable.
He hadn't run a brewery or anything in his previous life, but he had tried brewing his own wine once, and he had a pretty good understanding of the process. Wine was also something he could grow the ingredients for himself, making things convenient.
Most importantly, wine wasn't a revolutionary new invention that would attract unwarranted attention. His goal was simply to be known in the surrounding area, and then gradually expand his business as his strength grew.
Now, his newly acquired 5 acres of land were dedicated to growing grapes, and beneath his feet lay twelve bottles of wine with slightly different formulas. He would dig them out in the spring and taste them to see which one was the best.
'If things go well, I might be able to afford spending some money on resources for the children's training.'
Suddenly, Shu Yang heard something. He immediately turned around and focused his gaze into the night.
A few seconds later, the sound became clearer, and Shu Yang could see a vague outline in the darkness approaching the house.
'Could it be?'
Shu Yang's heart started beating fiercely. Even if he had been on the lookout for someone these few days, when it actually happened, Shu Yang felt utterly unprepared.
'Focus!'
Shu Yang quietly made his way behind a tree in the yard, peeking his head out.
The moon wasn't very bright, but it was enough for Shu Yang to see quite a few details of the man as he got close.
It was hard to describe; he was middle-aged but looked very haggard. A fierce and grim expression on his face as he rounded to the back of the house, close to where Shu Yang was hiding.
Looking down at the man's hands, Shu Yang saw that he was carrying a large knife.
As soon as Shu Yang saw the knife, he felt strangely calm. All the nervousness disappeared, and only a chilling fury was left.
This man was about to kill his wife and children. He needed to be killed.
"Who?" The man suddenly called out and turned around, seemingly aware that Shu Yang was lurking there.
Shu Yang didn't waste any words; without giving it any thought, he rushed out to the man, raising his fist.
The man seemed experienced and didn't panic when Shu Yang suddenly leaped out. He let out a shout and swung his knife, aiming for his throat.
Shu Yang didn't dodge; his mind didn't even register that possibility. He only wanted the man threatening his family to die as soon as possible.
He raised his left arm to block the knife at the same time as he punched the man's face. The knife cut deep into Shu Yang's forearm, but his punch seemed to do more damage.
The man let out a yell as he almost lifted off the ground from the force of the punch. Blood ran out from his broken nose and split lip, and he was dazed for a second.
Shu Yang didn't hesitate a second; he took a big step forward, grabbed hold of the arm with the knife in it, and punched the man again. This time, he dropped to the ground.
Shu Yang stepped on his hand, and the man screamed and released the knife he was holding.
Kicking away the knife, Shu Yang bent down and started beating the man in the face. He was determined to keep beating until he was dead, no other thought made it through.
"Friend," A soft voice suddenly sounded beside him, "Could you let me ask him a few questions?"
Shu Yang raised his head abruptly and looked to the side. A young man who seemed to be the same age as Shu Yang had appeared without him noticing anything.
Shu Yang felt slightly dazed; the last few seconds seemed incredibly strange, like some force had taken hold of him. Coming back to his senses, he could once again feel his beating heart, adrenaline rushing through his body.
"Don't worry, I'm an Official from Huji City. I just want to ask a few questions to make sure he doesn't have any accomplices around." The man explained patiently.
"Right," Shu Yang said, nodding woodenly. Now, the man was severely beaten, and Shu Yang realized he was only a 3rd-grade warrior. He didn't feel so threatening anymore.
The man from Huji started asking a few questions, and Shu Yang took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.
'I'm far too inexperienced in these matters. Just a 3rd-grade warrior, and I lost all reason. If he were any stronger, I might have lost my life fighting him so carelessly.'
'I can't stay like this. I need to get some actual fighting experience.'
"Friend…Are you alright?" The young man asked.
Shu Yang came back to his senses and noticed that the man had finished questioning the criminal.
Not only that…the criminal's head had been severed from his body.
'Looks like I don't need to worry about that then.'
"I'm fine. Thank you for your help," Shu Yang said, clasping his fists politely.
"It's my duty, and you seemed to have everything under control anyway," The man said with a light smile. "Anyway, I need to go back and report. I'll bring the body with me."
"Of course," Shu Yang said.
'Who is he? Did he say he was from Huji City? The Prefectural Capital?'
"Good night to you then," The man said with a nod, about to leave.
"Excuse me," Shu Yang hurriedly stopped him, "This man…Who is he? Why did he attack us? Is he the same man who killed the Luo family?"
The young man hesitated slightly before answering, "He is the same one. As for who he is and why he did what he did…Well, some people are just evil and like to cause bloodshed. There isn't much reason behind it."
Shu Yang had a feeling that wasn't the complete answer, but he felt better knowing that it was the same man, and he wouldn't have to worry about that murderer anymore.
The young man hurried off without explaining further, and Shu Yang stood in the courtyard watching him leave, running through the events of the night in his head, gradually relaxing.
The young man, Shen Ye, wasn't quite as relaxed.
He was deeply concerned as he felt the evil aura from the headless man.
'Another evil warrior, just as suspected. But why kill so wantonly? To cause panic? He must have known he would get caught.'
If it were just an isolated incident, he could shrug it off as a lone madman. The problem was that events like these were becoming increasingly common. Families slaughtered, one after another, all over the prefecture. No reason, no purpose. Just a growing fear in the population.
'Who is behind these people, and what goal do they have?'